


The Fox and the Hound

by CMA6725



Series: Of Men and Legends [8]
Category: Zorro (TV 1990)
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Romance, Some Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 08:40:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 53,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29756970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CMA6725/pseuds/CMA6725
Summary: Doctor Hernandez realizes who Zorro is at the opportune time, and the masked avenger will need to embark on a new adventure involving a treasure, mysterious abductions, a dangerous criminal gang, and a famous detective.This story uses a character I had created for my story - The Hound - currently available only on fanfiction.net. Part of the intrigue of that story is mentioned in this one, so an outline is included in one of the chapters.
Relationships: Diego de la Vega/Original Female Character(s), Victoria Escalante/Diego de la Vega
Series: Of Men and Legends [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2177262
Kudos: 2





	1. Prologue

Doctor Hernandez wasn't sure. Not absolutely, without a doubt, sure. Was it really possible that the peace-loving mild-mannered Diego de la Vega led a double life? Was he the pueblo's masked hero, Zorro? Were Diego and Zorro just two sides of the same coin, just two faces of the same man?

He was not in Los Angeles when the Royal Emissary Gilberto Risendo, who turned out to be Gilberto de la Vega, had come to cause such havoc in the pueblo. He had heard the gossip: how the Emissary did his best to drive a ridge between the De la Vegas, how he had almost seized Church' Property if it were not for Zorro's decision to steal the De la Vegas funds from the bank and offer them instead, how Diego was wounded when his twin brother had tried to kill him and his father.

He knew that Zorro had disappeared for a while, - although the people attributed his disappearance to wounds sustained at Diablo Canyon, - and reemerged to save Don Alejandro's life one evening, several weeks later.

He also knew that Diego had had just as much a part in the previous week's revelation about Don Pablo's scheme to massacre a whole Indian village as Zorro had in defending the people contracted to perpetrate the deed, although it seemed to everyone that Diego's part was nothing more than a coincidence. Seeing the old Indian woman's expression at looking towards Diego during their visit to the settlement, as well as the young caballero's when looking at Victoria Escalante, were just more clues that somehow, everybody else seemed to be missing.

He realized that he had missed other clues as well. Diego's fall from his horse somehow coincided with Zorro's fall down a canyon; he seemed to always miss Zorro when the masked man made an appearance; he was always the first one to grow suspicious of any problem and Zorro was always the one to deal with it.

Yes, just like everyone in the pueblo, Doctor Hernandez had missed all the signs.

Yet, now that the idea was so strongly entrenched in his mind, the doctor had started paying attention.

He started looking at Zorro. Really looking at him. He was tall, obviously well educated, had a similar mustache as Diego, and, from what he could see under the mask, at the back of his head, his hair was black. Except for his skill with the sword, excellent horsemanship, tracking abilities, and something in his voice, he could just as well be Diego. But a voice can be changed. Skills can be hidden. An intelligent man would probably do that. A man like Diego de la Vega would certainly do just that.

"You seem quite pensive these days, my friend." Don Alejandro remarked, watching the doctor staring at his food, sat at a corner table in the tavern. "Is anything the matter?"

Doctor Hernandez raised his head and stared at him with a gaze similar to that of a man who had just awoken after a very realistic dream.

"No, Alejandro. Nothing is wrong. I was just thinking. Why don't you take a sit with me?"

"I'd be glad to. Diego was supposed to meet me here, but I don't know where the boy is!"

"Zorro!" People shouted in the plaza.

"Shall we?" Don Alejandro asked with a smile, inviting the doctor to go see what the masked man was up to this time.

Zorro came into the plaza dragging three horses behind him, a man tied up on the back of each one.

"Alcalde!" He addressed De Soto as soon as he arrived next to the cuartel. "I bring you the men who had kidnapped Don Benito's son. The boy has already been reunited with his parents, but I thought you might want to deal with these ones yourself."

"I appreciate the thought, Zorro." The De Soto answered. "Now, if you'll be so kind as to dismount, my men will take you into custody, as well."

"Alcalde! You should know by now that I have no intention of gracing your prison with my presence." Zorro answered somehow amused.

"Then you shall grace my noose! Lancers!" De Soto shouted and four lancers came to attention just as Zorro smiled and saluted, steering Tornado away from the pueblo. "Shoot him! What are you waiting for?"

The lancers raised their muskets and shot, not aiming particularly at Zorro as much as in his general direction. By that time, even for what the Alcalde was concerned, such interaction was more a matter of tradition rather than a real intent to harm the masked man. It was part of the game they were engaged in playing, more than a serious attempt to end it.

However, that day, in his effort to avoid being hit, the masked man had steered Tornado a little too much to the left, somehow putting himself in the way of one of the bullets which didn't completely miss his left shoulder. It was like a small shock that went through Zorro's body, he swayed a little in the saddle but recomposed himself quickly, and continued his ride.

"He's been injured." Doctor Hernandez uttered at the same time as others in the plaza. Looking at his friend, the tried to find a sign of concern on Don Alejandro's face, preparing to find an excuse and accompany him to the hacienda.

"He didn't seem very disturbed by it!" The caballero answered. "He is an extremely resourceful young man. I hardly think there's reason to worry."

If Zorro was his son, Don Alejandro was either very good at hiding his emotions or completely unaware, just like everybody else. Good at hiding his emotions he was not.

The two men returned to sit at the table and ate their lunch, making small-talk. About an hour later, Diego came looking for his father. On his way to Don Alejandro's table, he also made sure to eavesdrop on the other people's conversations, wondering if they had noticed him being injured. They had, and the subject had monopolized at least half of the discussions in the tavern.

"Where have you been, Diego?" Don Alejandro admonished him as soon as he neared the table. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

"I am sorry, Father!" He answered. "I was painting and lost track of time. It is good to see you, Doctor Hernandez."

"You too, Diego!" The doctor answered wondering how was the young caballero there if he had, indeed, been wounded. But he saw Zorro getting injured. Perhaps it was all in his mind. Maybe he was seeing things that weren't there.

"Buenos días, Don Diego!" Victoria greeted him. "What will you have?"

"Some of your albondigas soup would be nice, Victoria." He replied with a smile and his eyes lingered on her as she went back into the kitchen to fetch his soup. The doctor didn't imagine seeing that.

"You know, Diego, I always thought you and Señorita Escalante would make a beautiful couple. How come you've never decided to court her?" Doctor Hernandez asked and a surprised Diego did his best to come up with a plausible answer.

"Me and Victoria? But everybody knows she is in love with Zorro. What chances would I have against him?" He wondered.

"None whatsoever, Son!" Don Alejandro answered with some amusement. "It is a good thing you only see her as a sister!" He continued, and Diego seemed offended by the comment but said nothing to deny its validity. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go talk to Padre Benitez." Alejandro stated, helping himself up by supporting his right hand on his son's left shoulder. Diego couldn't completely avoid a pain-filled grimace but gave no other indication of being in pain.

The doctor didn't need more confirmation than that, however. He was wounded. He was Zorro. Should I say something? He wondered, but decided not to. Certainty on such matters was dangerous for both of them. As things were, he could just pretend he didn't know.

After an interesting discussion on Indian remedies for certain ailments, the two parted ways, Doctor Hernandez looking to go home for a bit of rest, while Diego directing towards the small office where he worked as editor for The Guardian.

The Los Angeles Guardian. The doctor told himself while crossing the plaza. Clues everywhere. He's lucky nobody seems to notice them!


	2. Diego's injury

Diego would have asked Felipe to help him with the wound but, unfortunately, the young man was away, entrusted by Don Alejandro to help his vaqueros bring to Los Angeles several new horses he had recently acquired. Diego was thus left to tend to his wound by himself. It was a rather deep musket scratch. The projectile had, fortunately, not traversed his body or he might have lost the use of his arm. As it was, it had only harmed his deltoid muscle, near the shoulder, but had not harmed the bone. The problem was that he could not stich it properly and its position made it so that the stiches were under too much pressure to hold unless the arm was held up. Unable to find a good excuse for that, realizing that the people might have noticed Zorro having been wounded, he had to redo them twice the day he was injured. Once, because his father had asked for his help with carrying some wine bottles into the hacienda, which led to one of the stiches failing to hold, and once because Victoria had slid on some spilled soup in the taproom and he had caught her before she injured herself. That cost him two of the remaining stiches, but, at least, he got to hold her in his arms, even if it was for a short while.

By the next morning, he was feeling rather light-headed and realized the wound was getting infected. Under normal circumstances, he would have left his father a note informing him that he had decided to go to Santa Paula or some other destination, for a couple of days, and would have spent his time in the cave, under Felipe's care. However, this time, Felipe was not around and his father had insisted for Diego to accompany him to the local cattle auction, set on teaching the De la Vega heir more about the trade.

Diego tried to find an acceptable excuse for his father, explaining he wasn't feeling very well that morning, but Don Alejandro stubbornly insisted for him to come. With a sigh and a deep breath at realizing he had no option but to follow his father like the pup the old don sometimes seemed to consider him to be, he hid his pain as well as he could. With his fever rising and the area getting inflamed, however, pain was no longer his main concern. Standing was.

His feet were giving up under him and the unusual high temperature of that end of January didn't help. Don Alejandro was negotiating the sale of some cattle to some padres from San Juan Bautista when Diego decided to head to the tavern for some rest and refreshments, so that he might stand a chance to lower his fever. Unfortunately, having made the decision too late, he barely had the opportunity to take a few steps before he collapsed, losing his consciousness. His father hadn't even noticed and only became alarmed when he was called on by some children who started yelling that Diego had died.

Hurrying at his son's side, Don Alejandro asked for one of his vaqueros to bring Doctor Hernandez, while he was trying to wake Diego up by gently slapping his face. Noticing the commotion, De Soto and Mendoza also made their way towards the unconscious caballero and the Alcalde asked his Sergeant to bring some water, thinking Diego was just dehydrated.

Realizing he was burning up, Don Alejandro decided to remove Diego's jacket, not knowing that the shirt underneath was stained by the oozing from the wound, which had made its way through the bandages. He was about to do just that when Doctor Hernandez stopped him by taking his place at Diego's side.

By the time the young caballero came around, a multitude of people was fussing over him. He tried to stand but fell right back and eventually allowed for a vaquero to help him to a room in the tavern where he could get some rest.

When the doctor followed him, his father, Victoria and Mendoza following the doctor, Diego tried to avoid the consultation, assuring everyone that it was but a mild cold or the result of standing too long in the sun. Agreeing that was probably the case, but insisting on performing an examination, anyway, the doctor kicked everyone else out of the room, than demanded that Diego removed his jacket and his shirt.

"I am sure that is not necessary for you to have a look at my tonsils!" The young caballero refused.

"I need to check on your wound." The doctor told him bluntly. "By your fever, it must already be infected."

Diego made one last effort to deny that he was injured but, seeing the doctor's face, he gave up, removing his jacket and his shirt.

"Next time come directly to me, young man. Tending yourself to such injury was reckless. You clearly didn't have the time or the angle to do it properly." The doctor admonished him, as he was treating the wound, adding a few extra stiches. "You father almost gave you up earlier in the plaza. He doesn't know, does he?" He continued asking a few minutes later.

"No… He does not. You shouldn't know, either." Diego replied confused and a little annoyed, but thankful that only the doctor was there and that the man's intervention prevented his father from outing him.

"Know what?" The doctor uttered with a frown. "All I know is that you have a cold and you'll need plenty of rest as well as some medicine that can help reduce the fever and subdue the infection to your tonsils!"

The doctor said nothing more and Diego understood that the older man both knew and was keeping his secret.

When he finally allowed Don Alejandro and Victoria into the room to check on Diego, the doctor informed them that it was a bad case of the flu, due to Diego's low immunity, gave them the medicine they needed to administer to his patient, and took some time to point out to the concerned father that he should not allow Diego to get out of the house when he is feeling under the weather for, despite his son's bravado, he was not the strong man he appeared to be. Don Alejandro felt terrible, and spent most part of the day either doing his best to help with Diego's fever or apologizing every time he would wake up. He was never to drag his son anywhere again if he gave even the slightest indication of being ill.

Feverish and tired, but well enough to have a decent conversation every few hours, and even eat some of Victoria's soup, the caballero had to admit he rather liked the idea of being fussed over by the woman he loved. He no longer questioned her love for him, although he still had a hard time understanding how it was that she seemed so clueless about her own feelings.

During the two and a half days he had to remain at the tavern, Victoria had made sure to spend most of her free time in his room, either keeping vigil or reading to him when he was awake. Many of his friends had also visited. Mendoza spent a few hours with him every day, in an effort to keep up with their custom of having lunch together as often as possible, several of the dons and donas came by to cheer him up, and even De Soto came to check on his health.

The tall caballero found his old schoolmate's preoccupation for him rather heartwarming, especially since he was now aware of the reasons behind it. He couldn't, however, ignore the fact that the Alcalde wanted nothing better than to catch and hang his alter ego, just as he knew De Sot would not suddenly have complete change of heart if he found out the identity of the man behind the mask. He was unlikely to actually go through with the promised execution, but Diego believed he had been quite sincere when, during the loop, he had stated that he would hand him over to the Governor instead.

Doctor Hernandez allowed him to return to the hacienda a little over two days after his collapse, and Diego took the first chance he got to go see Tornado. With Felipe away with his father's vaqueros, although he knew the stallion had enough food and water for a few days, he was still concerned about the welfare of the horse. His concern only grew at not finding him there as he entered the cave. Hurriedly exiting through the back stone door, he found the steed peacefully grazing on a nearby meadow and Tornado hurried towards him as soon as he noticed his presence.

"Missed me, old boy?" Diego asked, as he petted the stallion. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone for so long, but I'm back now. Perhaps we can even go for a ride a little later." He promised, and the horse followed him back to the cave just as Felipe, who had returned only minutes earlier, was descending the stairs.


	3. A New Mission for Zorro

Diego had been home for about a week and the wound was healing nicely. Felipe, who had also arrived back home the same day as his adoptive father was the one to change his bandages every day, making the doctor's visits redundant.

That day, having returned home from his daily ride on Tornado before anyone else started roaming the hacienda, and, eventually, pretending to wake up 'earlier than usual', around 9 a.m., at his concerned father's insistence, Diego was resting in the library. In fact, he was re-reading a book for what must have been the 3rd time, careful not to overexert himself, as Don Alejandro would now demand.

Ever since the episode in the market, the old caballero had made it his mission to keep Diego, as much as possible, indoors, thus making sure he was protected from any new flu attack set on affecting, even more, his son's already-weakened health.

"Have you heard, Diego?" Don Alejandro asked, as he came into the library.

"Hear what, Father?" Diego asked innocently. He had heard earlier that morning, and knew exactly what his father was coming to tell him. The stagecoach from Monterey had been found the previous evening abandoned by the road, with no passengers, no driver, and no horses, some twenty miles north of Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, that was not the first such case, as disappearances had been registered for the last few weeks in various parts of California. It was just the occasional lone traveler who would disappear at first, but, recently, the phenomenon was becoming ever more alarming, with young farmers and vaqueros suddenly missing from their homes. A stagecoach found abandoned by the road was the newest case in this line of mysterious disappearances, and there was already talk of ghosts coming to claim the souls of the living, which just made Diego wonder as to the source of such stories.

Up until that point, the disappearances were restricted to the northern and eastern towns and settlements, so he did not get involved in the case, especially since whoever was behind it seemed to avoid Los Angeles and the surrounding area. He had also been rather busy, injured, and unwilling to travel too far from the pueblo, considering the number of bandits plaguing the territory recently. Yet now, he was pondering the idea that, perhaps, he should get involved, since the troops dispatched from Monterey and the other garrisons did not seem to make much progress in solving the case.

"The stagecoach from Monterey was found completely empty. The driver and the two passengers disappeared. De Soto and his men have just left to investigate." His father informed him.

"Another disappearance? Maybe I should also investigate the story for The Guardian." Diego answered, already deciding his intervention might be needed, after all.

"Don't be absurd, Diego. You edit a fine newspaper but this is work for the authorities. You are not The Hound, Son!" Don Alejandro decided to discourage him.

"I may not be, but I could interview the families of the people missing, and… "

"And find out they are missing? Diego… just stick to your books and rest! You know the doctor insisted on you taking better care of yourself." Don Alejandro replied.

Diego just sighed and begun considering how to go about investigating without worrying his father or arousing his suspicion. Zorro could do it, but, for that to happen, Diego had to get away from town for at least a couple of days, maybe more, so he needed a good excuse.

"Are you expecting visitors, Diego?" Don Alejandro wondered as they suddenly heard a knock on the main door.

"No, Father." Diego answered, secretly hoping it was Victoria coming to pay him a visit.

"Doctor Hernandez!" Don Alejandro exclaimed at opening the door to the unexpected guest. "Have you come to check on Diego?"

"I… I would like to discuss with your son, Alejandro." The Doctor didn't even bother to say hello, his face flushed and his body shaking.

Diego was heading towards the door, just as the doctor asked to see him.

"Good morning, Doctor!" He uttered. Judging by the way the man looked, he almost wondered if the good doctor hadn't perhaps seen for himself the ghosts responsible for the abductions. "Are you here to see me?"

"I am, Diego. I… I need to talk to you in private." Hernandez answered.

"Whatever you have to say to my son, you can say in front of me, my friend. We have no secrets from each other." Don Alejandro assured him.

"But… Father… If the doctor would rather discuss in private… " Diego intervened, sensing this was not to be a medical discussion.

"Nonsense!" His father decided to cut him off, fearing it might be some bad news about his son's health. "Doctor, I assure you that whatever it is that you need to tell my son, I am perfectly capable of handling it."

Both Doctor Hernandez and Diego realized there was no way around Don Alejandro. The De la Vegas invited the doctor to take a sit in the library and he took a little time to consider how to have the discussion he wanted to have, without betraying Diego.

"Father, why don't you offer Doctor Hernandez some refreshments?" Diego tried once more to get him out of the room.

"Yes… yes… of course, where are my manners? I will be back in seconds!" Don Alejandro replied and headed for the kitchen.

"He will be back in seconds! We should make this quick." Diego encouraged the doctor when his father was far enough not to overhear.

"My son, Manuel, was in the stagecoach coming from Monterey. I need your help." The doctor answered.

"I see… Follow my lead!" Diego replied, just in time, for a few moments later his father returned with three glasses of orange juice.

"So… What is all this about, old friend?" Don Alejandro asked.

"Have you had news from the doctor you told me about?" Diego asked, sensing the opportunity to find a good excuse to leave home for a while. "Father, the doctor is trying to find a way to help with my health issues."

"Yes, yes… that is exactly right." Hernandez replied.

"So? Can the doctor in San Diego provide me the treatments?" Diego questioned, encouraging the doctor to get in on the game.

"The doctor in San Diego?" Hernandez was a little lost. "Right… my friend from San Diego. Yes, he thinks he might."

"Excellent!" Diego exclaimed. "Father, I believe I should leave for San Diego at once." He decided.

"Leave? What are you talking about? In your condition? I will not just let you leave all alone, Son. If you must leave, I am coming with you."

Hernandez, silently cursed himself for exaggerating, as he did, the issue of Diego's immunity. He had tried to do him a favor, knowing that it would be easier to hide future injuries under such an excuse, but he had not meant to worry Alejandro as much as he obviously did. In hindsight, he also felt amused by the irony of the situation, since Diego was extremely healthy, for he had never before seen someone able to make such a quick recovery.

"No!" Diego realized rather late the tone of his negation. "I mean… Father, since the good doctor has offered to accompany me, there will be no need for your presence. You are much more needed here."

"I will, of course, go with Diego!" Doctor Hernandez confirmed. "And I'm afraid you would not be of much help there, anyway! My friend takes his treatments very seriously, and doesn't allow for family and friends to stay with his patients for their duration. Only doctors, such as myself, are permitted to assist." Doctor Hernandez informed him, hoping to put the man's mind at ease.

"I would, however, feel better accompanying you, myself, as well. I will just stay at the tavern." Don Alejandro insisted.

"But what about Felipe, Father? I would not feel at ease leaving him alone for what might be days, even weeks."

"Weeks?" The old don questioned.

"The treatment may take long, considering Diego's current state." Doctor Hernandez assured him. "Or not. I am really not sure how long it could take, but it's the best option we have right now."

"Well… if it might take that long and the doctor will accompany you, I guess I have no choice. But I will insist on visiting if you are not back in a week! Will your friend truly be able to help, Doctor? Diego has been much too sensitive since his return from Madrid. I think the weather in Spain might have taken a toll on him." Don Alejandro stated.

"Yes… He believes he might help. But, even so, Alejandro, the effects of his procedure could take a while to manifest. There is no such thing as a miracle cure, my friend. I hope you understand that." Hernandez stated and brought a sly grin on Diego's face.

"Of course! Of course!" Don Alejandro answered. "In that case, when will you leave?"

"The sooner, the better! I can be ready in a couple of hours. I just need to check on a patient, but he is on his way to recovery, so he doesn't need me anymore." Doctor Hernandez answered with some contentment, disguising the concern he felt about his son.

"I will meet you in town at noon, in that case, Doctor. We can take lunch together at the tavern and leave right away." Diego stated.

As soon as the doctor left, Diego went to find Felipe, and, while packing, he instructed his son to wait for him a few miles south of the pueblo, with Tornado and his Zorro attire, knowing he needed to make sure nobody suspected of him being the masked outlaw by having both of them leave at the same time, even if they were heading in opposite directions.

Doctor Hernandez was already waiting for him in the tavern, his wagon parked in front of the establishment, when Diego and his father arrived by carriage, the older man insisting that his son was not yet well enough to ride. After a rather short lunch to say goodbye to Victoria and Sergeant Mendoza, and to make sure everyone in town knew where they were going and why they were traveling together, Diego's luggage was moved into the doctor's wagon and they both left Los Angeles, making their way south.

"So….what is the plan, Diego?" The doctor asked shortly after they exited the pueblo.

"I will need to go investigate at the site where the stagecoach was found and, since my father hardly lets me out of his sight lately, this was the only way to escape for a few days. I would suggest that you take a room at San Juan Capistrano Mission, then, if I don't come to find you in four days, return to Los Angeles, explaining I remained behind to follow my treatments and that you'll be informed when I am ready to return. That way, my father might decide to wait, rather than go look for me."

"I'm not sure, young man! Wouldn't it be easier to tell your father the truth about what you're doing? His actions in the plaza, the other day, almost gave you up. Not to mention it's a dangerous life you're leading, Diego. I would rather know if I was in his shoes."

"Doctor, do you believe my father would be able to control himself if he thought I am in any sort of danger? You've seen how protective he suddenly became at the slightest hint of a minor health issue, so he is hardly the right person to be entrusted with guarding my secret. I will tell him someday, but it must be when the danger has passed, not sooner, or we might both end up on the gallows."

"I understand. If you were able to do this by yourself all these years, perhaps it is not really my place to give you advice. But, at least, be careful! There is a good way for your father to find out, and there is a bad way. I am not sure his heart would survive losing his only son."

"I have no intention of dying anytime soon, Doctor." Diego assured him. "Now… if you'll excuse me, I believe this is where we part." He told him as he noticed Felipe up a hill, hidden behind some trees. "You go on, and I will come to tell you what I've found as soon as I have any news."

The two parted ways, Doctor Hernandez following Diego with his gaze, and noticing he went behind the nearby hill, from where soon enough Zorro magically emerged, mounted on Tornado. He wondered if that was where Zorro's secret hideout was, but decided against finding out for sure, so he continued his journey, not seeing Felipe following the masked man just a few minutes later.


	4. On the trail

Zorro avoided Los Angeles and headed towards the place where the stagecoach had been found. It had passed San Fernando Rey Mission the afternoon of the day its passengers and driver went missing, together with its four horses, so he had a pretty good idea how far away from Los Angeles the abduction had happened. By the time he arrived, the area was filled with lancers who were trying to find a trail and messing it up in the process.

He watched from a safe distance and decided to try and find trails to the east, which was, in his mind, the only way the men could have gone on horseback. Not far from where the soldiers were, he managed to find the imprints of eight different horses. Knowing that four people were missing, the stage's four horses had been taken, and reasoning that the attackers must have been in a similar number as their victims, he decided to follow them.

Traveling south, Zorro soon became convinced he was on the right track by the way the riders avoided any road and only went through the most secluded areas. In a cave situated some twenty miles south-east of Los Angeles he found evidence of a group of people having spent the night there. From the looks of it, he concluded that four of the men had been bound. Following the trail to the south, he found himself some thirty miles north-east of San Juan Capistrano Mission. Realizing it was already getting late, he decided to return to the tracks the following morning and returned to the pueblo.

Once there, he climbed the cuartel's roof and entered the Alcalde's office through the skylight, set on finding out if the authorities had identified any clues or had any other information regarding the disappearances. To do so, he eventually decided to ask the Alcalde directly, since the man had left no clue on the desk or anywhere else in his office. Making his way to De Soto's bedroom, he took away the man's sword, which he was now keeping by the bed, and woke him up by placing his left hand on his mouth and his knife at his throat.

De Soto was, obviously, quite surprised to see him, and just a little afraid of the knife, not believing for one second, though, that Zorro was there to kill him.

"People are sleeping, Alcalde!" The masked man uttered. "Let's leave them to their dreams!"

"How dare you enter my quarters like this?" De Soto asked enraged, but his voice was suddenly lowered at feeling the steel of his nemesis' knife. "What do you want?"

"Just whatever information you have on the disappearances. Shouldn't be too hard since I doubt you have much to offer."

"Ha!" Exclaimed the Alcalde. "How would you know that?"

"Well, Alcalde, since you and your men were so busy with destroying any tracks earlier, I doubt you managed to follow them."

"Who says we needed to follow tracks?" The Alcalde stated. "We might have something better! At least we will when we'll make sense of it."

"Really? Pray tell!" Zorro answered with a wicked smile that made the Alcalde feel a cold shiver down his spine.

"Why should I tell you?" He answered, but gave in as soon as Zorro's knife moved towards his eyes. He could live without an eye, so Zorro wouldn't have to kill him if he decided to remove it. But he did not WANT to live without an eye! He was not a pirate, por Dios! "Fine! I will tell you everything I know!" He conceded. "Just get that dagger away from me!"

Zorro removed the dagger but kept it close and kept himself close to De Soto.

"There was some kind of map next to the carriage. We believe it must have fallen from whoever took them."

"Where is it?" Zorro asked. "It is not in your office. I checked."

"You checked my office?" De Soto almost yelled, causing the masked man to point the knife back at his throat. "Of course you checked my office."

"Had I found something I would have not disturbed your sleep, I assure you." He underlined. "The map, please."

De Soto reached under his pillow and took out the map, handing it to Zorro.

"I don't even know what sort of map it is, anyway!" The Alcalde told him with undisguised annoyance.

"Then you won't mind if I keep it… Seeing how you can't understand it, but I can." Zorro answered with a sly grin after taking a quick glance at the document.

"And what am I supposed to say to the Governor's men when they arrive tomorrow?" De Soto asked.

"Tell them I've robbed you."

"They'll double the reward on your head if I do so." De Soto tried to menace but Zorro sensed certain regret in his voice.

"Alcalde," he said "if I didn't know better, I would think you might not want that." He noted.

"Of course I don't!" De Soto replied and his nemesis was shocked by his statement. "If that were to happen, all the bounty-hunters in California would come here. Do you think I want to see this town infested with those low-lives? Not to mention that I have every intention of keeping the reward for myself, once I capture you, Zorro! I'd prefer to keep 6,000 pesos than to lose 12,000."

The masked man looked at him and smiled, then put his dagger back in his belt.

"You're going to punch me, aren't you?" De Soto asked, surprising him again.

He thought about it for a few seconds, and then took out a small vial, pouring its content on the Alcalde's bedsheet.

"Perhaps there's no need to!" He answered to De Soto's bewilderment. Raising the tainted part of the sheet to the Alcalde's nose, he couldn't hide his amusement as the man fell back, completely asleep, as soon as he smelled it. To make sure he would not be disturbed, however, he took his time to bind De Soto's hands and to gag him.

Taking the map, he made his way to the Alcalde's office and drew a copy of the document, then cut a piece of the lower right corner, thus making sure the military would have a little more trouble finding its meaning and the location indicated on it.

Happy with the results, he returned to De Soto, made sure he was still asleep, took off his gag and unbound his hands, then left the map next to his pillow with a short note in which he mentioned that he might want to let the Governor's men know it was a map detailing part of the Californian coastline and the waters around it. As all this was done, he exited, returned to his stallion and rode it to the back of the tavern, where he left Tornado in the stables, intended to pay a little visit to Victoria.

She was just preparing to go to bed when he knocked on the window. Victoria quickly put on the red robe he had given her as a present a while back, then hurried to open and let him climb inside.

"Zorro!" She exclaimed, throwing herself in his arms. "How are you here?"

"Can't a fiancé come to see the woman he is engaged to?" He answered, and then lowered his head to place a passionate kiss on her lips.

"Of course…"She replied. "That is not what I meant…I, actually, don't know what I meant. I am very happy you are here!"

"I don't think I have much time. I left the Alcalde sleeping, but he should soon wake up and might sound the alarm."

"You visited him before coming to see me?" She teased. "Should I be jealous?"

"By no means, mi amor. While I have always felt De Soto is at his best when unconscious, I certainly prefer you awake." Zorro answered with a sly grin.

She chuckled and reached to kiss him again.

"Victoria. I came to tell you I'll be leaving Los Angeles for a few days, maybe more. You won't be able to count on me, so please be careful!"

"Where are you going? When will you be back?" She demanded to know, frightened by the prospect of him leaving, maybe never to return.

"There is something I need to do. It is just for a few days." He replied. "I've been away for longer than that, so do not worry too much."

"Of course I'll worry. How will I know if and when you'll return?"

"I'll let you know as soon as I can!"

"And… and if you don't make it back? Am I to live the rest of my life, never knowing the true identity of the man I have given my heart to?"

"Maybe you already know…you just don't realize it yet." He whispered. "I will be back soon, mi preciosa."

Victoria felt her eyes filling with tears as he placed one last kiss on her forehead, and left through the window, just as she heard shouts from the cuartel, announcing that her beloved had been spotted.

ZZZ

Zorro made his way to the cave with little trouble from the lancers, who didn't even bother to shoot at him as he fled the pueblo and disappeared into the night. Creeping into the hacienda, black attire on, he went to fetch Felipe, dodging his father on the way, who seemed to have some trouble sleeping and had decided to haunt the hacienda instead. The youngest De la Vega was fast asleep in his room, but woke up easily and happily followed Diego back towards the cave.

"I have found the tracks of the abductors, Felipe." He told the young man, as soon as the sliding panel closed behind them. "They are heading south and have, at least, one day advance."

Felipe signaled to ask why they would be heading south when all the abductions happened north.

"I don't know, yet." Diego replied. "But the tracks don't lie. However, the answer might be in a map the Alcalde's men discovered next to the stagecoach, earlier today."

As he said that, he took the copy he had made of De Soto's map and pulled out some rolled maps of California's coastline to compare it with. The details were badly sketched and he knew the depiction was at a different scale than that of his maps, but he also knew exactly where to look. Taking a magnifying glass, he compared his drawing with a part of the coastline south of San Diego.

"Here it is! Quite the resemblance, although, perhaps a little less precise…" He told Felipe with a grin, passing him the magnifying glass to have a look for himself. "The Alcalde had no idea what it was because of all these lines on the left."

Felipe asked how did Diego know what that map indicated, since, at a first glance, it was impossible to spot any recognizable markings.

"I recognized that." He answered, pointing towards a symbol at the bottom-right corner of the map "It is used to pinpoint the location of the Kamia Indians, so that travelers can avoid them. They have a complicated history with Spanish settlers. Since their tribes live south of San Diego and the location on the map seems to be north-west of their lands, somewhere offshore, I am rather certain this is the place indicated." He said, placing his index finger on a spot indicated on the larger map displayed on his desk.

Felipe wondered about the location pinpointed, since it seemed to be in the middle of the sea.

"There is nothing there, as far as I know, Felipe." Diego admitted. "But I did spend most of my life on land and the maps don't pinpoint what's under the sea."

Replying to his son's gestures, he added "No, I don't know why they need the men. What worries me is the number of missing people. 31 have disappeared so far, but there could be more the authorities don't know about. They either need a lot of men for some heavy work or… " Diego sighed, hoping he was wrong about the second possible reason about the number of people taken, "or they lose them quickly and need to replace them." He eventually stated. "If that is the case, I have to hurry. I need an advance on the soldiers but we might need them, anyway."

Diego then took the quill and wrote a message for De Soto with his left hand. He signed it as Zorro, then gave it to Felipe.

"Make sure the Alcalde gets this note sometime tomorrow evening." He asked his son.

Felipe took a look at the paper – it indicated where the place pinpointed on the map was – and, confirmed he would make sure to deliver it.

"Now, I was wondering if there is any fast black mare among the new horses my father just bought. One not yet bearing the De la Vega brand."

The younger man smiled and signaled that there was one, then asked him why he needed a black mare.

"Because, Felipe" he answered "since the men responsible for the abductions seem to be heading in the same direction I made everyone believe I was heading with Doctor Hernandez, it might be better for Don Diego to take the journey. Considering I will also be taking Zorro's things and Zorro rides a black stallion, riding there on a black mare is the perfect compromise in this situation. If I meet the Alcalde or someone else familiar with Zorro on the way or in San Diego, I will not give myself up, as I would be, by riding Tornado. On the other hand, if I need to ride as Zorro, I very much doubt anyone will look too closely at the gender of the horse."

Felipe questioned his decision reminding him he had taken Tornado on a long journey before.

"Yes, I know I rode Tornado to the Devil's Fortress. But that was a mistake. If I had met with Luis Ramone or Victoria on the way, they would have recognized Zorro's stallion, even with the disguise. I was lucky then, but I cannot tempt fate again. I might not be so lucky this time."

As he said that, Diego asked Felipe to go saddle the new mare and bring it to the cave, while he folded one of his maps and put it, together with Zorro's black clothes, in a saddlebag. He left his Toledo steel sword in the cave, taking instead one with a round hilt he sometimes used for practice. When Felipe returned with the new horse, he instructed the young man to bring him some food, then asked him look after his father in his absence. Leaving the cave, he made his way to the Mission, riding hard most of the night to get there. When he arrived, he stabled the mare, then took the blanket from under his saddle and made his way towards one of the barns, where he spent a few hours sleeping.

ZZZ

Manuel Hernandez had tried to fight back when the men came, but neither he, nor the other passengers of the stagecoach in which they had traveled from Monterey stood a chance against the abductors. They had been tied, gagged, and forced to ride bareback on the stagecoach's horses, being guided through difficult terrain, far from the main roads. Still, he had grown up in the area, and had little difficulty realizing they were heading south, passing about ten miles east of Los Angeles, on their way to either San Diego or even Baja California.

The only food they received in the two days and part of the nights the bandits forced them to march south was some bread. Water they were only allowed to drink straight from the streams, when they took a break.


	5. The Way South

Just as the sun started its daily ascension through the sky, Doctor Hernandez, who barely closed on eye thinking about his son and praying Diego might be able to find him, got out of bed and put on his suit. He was regretting having let the young caballero go alone on the mission to find Manuel, and was now wondering how he might find him and convince him that he could be useful if he agreed to let him come along.

Just as he opened his room, though, he found himself standing in front of the man who was occupying his thoughts at the moment.

"Doctor! You are awake!" Diego exclaimed, lowering the hand he was about to use to knock on the room's door. "I was just coming to see you. I was wondering if we might have a talk."

Surprised, Doctor Hernandez invited him in and closed the door behind them. Diego leaned against a wall, leaving the saddlebags he was carrying with him on the floor.

"I came to ask if you might be willing to accompany me." He stated. "Something tells me your help might be needed and..."

"I was actually hoping I might find you and ask you the same thing. It is my son you are trying to find, and I cannot just sit idly by and do nothing."

"Well… that did not take as much convincing as I thought it might. But, there is, however, one thing you need to consider: they are already ahead of us and we will need to move fast. The wagon will slow us down, which means you would need to ride your horse. It will be a tiresome ride and we won't be able to take many breaks if we are to catch up with them. And you will need a saddle, but I can give you mine until we find another one to buy."

"No need. I saw yesterday that the Indians here at the Mission make some nice ones. I will acquire one as soon as the monks wake up and then we can be on our way."

"Very well, then. I brought some food from the hacienda so we can get some breakfast before everyone wakes up. We can then buy the saddle and be on our way." He decided taking a couple of tamales form his saddlebags and handing one to the doctor who only accepted it when Diego insisted. "It seems like we will be going to San Diego, after all."

"San Diego?" The Doctor questioned as he was unpacking the breakfast. "And how do you know that? All the people were abducted north. Doesn't that mean that whoever is behind this is also north?"

"That seems to be what everyone thought, and it might have been the case if these were normal abductions perpetrated by bandits. However, beside the fact that the people I suspect of having taken your son are certainly travelling south, there are also some things that have been bothering me since the first people went missing, a month ago. Firstly, those taken are all young, able-bodied men; never women, children or older men. Secondly, the people who went missing initially were living or traveling alone and were either farmers or poor vendors, which is why, in some cases, their disappearance was only noticed days after it took place. They were people who wouldn't be missed, at least for a while, and there was never any request for a ransom on any of them. Normal bandits are out for profit. Thus, whoever is behind this needs the men. Thirdly, there was a break in the abductions, a couple of weeks ago. For all I was able to find out, after the first 18 people were taken, nobody else went missing for at least eight days. Finally, after they restarted, the cases moved south, towards Los Angeles. The two last factors seem to indicate that the source is south, not north, and the choice to abduct people from the north was just aimed to mislead the authorities."

"So we are dealing with some astute abductors who need the young men for something else than ransom."

"Yes…and that is where it's really becoming worrisome." Diego started, wondering if to share all his thoughts with the doctor.

"What do you mean? If they need them, surely they will not harm them."

"I guess that depends on what they need them for. What really concerns me is the break – to me that indicates that, after the first two weeks, they probably had all the men they needed. When they started again, it was either because they realized they weren't enough… or because they had lost some." He let the words sink in and unfolded the map he had copied, and showed it to the doctor. "There is another reason why I now believe we need to head south. This map was found near the stagecoach your son was travelling in. It indicates a place near San Diego. However, it is not on land but at sea and, according to my own maps, there is no island there. Therefore, whatever this map indicates is in the sea… "

The doctor stared at him, then at the map for a few minutes, trying to consider what reasons people would have to abduct young men and take them to the open sea. There were several that came to mind, ranging from forcing them to join a pirate crew to being used as entertainment, but it still didn't make sense. There was more profit to be made by abducting rich people of all ages, and asking for money in exchange for their safe return. That was when he remembered Diego's words: they had all the men they needed and then they lost some. How would they lose some?

"You think they are using them as divers, don't you?" The doctor exclaimed, and Diego's face was all the confirmation he needed. "But it's the open sea! It must be a long way to the bottom. People cannot survive such dives even if they know how to swim, which I hardly think is the case, with most of those taken being farmers. I mean… they might survive, depending on the depth… but probably not if forced to do it more than once or twice. Their organs would fail. And then, there are all types of sea-creature which could attack them. Good Lord! Why would someone do that to those poor men? To my son!"

"If that is the objective, they are probably looking for something. Forced diving would explain why they started abducting more. If some died in the attempts, then they would need to be replaced. But do not despair, doctor. The men who took Manuel traveled 30 miles the first day so, despite the advance they have on us, they might still be far away from San Diego and they will have some more traveling to do from there. We might be there in time to stop them from getting Manuel on that ship. But…that will be a very tiresome journey for a man your age… Which is why I still doubt my decision to have you come along… I can make it faster on my own, but, if I am too late, we might need your medical expertise. We could need it even if we catch up with them in time. I am not leaving those men to perish at sea. So your son might be a priority, but he is not the entire mission."

"I understand that very well, Diego." Doctor Hernandez answered. "And I have already made my decision. I am coming with you!"

Diego approved with a nod. They both packed some essentials needed to take on the journey which would fit the saddlebags. The rest of their things, they left to the safeguard of the friars, together with the wagon.

When they were all set, Diego guided the doctor towards the place where he had last picked up the tracks. They found them long before getting there, and lost no more time heading north. The tracks were still a day old and rather easy to follow, so the two men pushed their horses as fast as they could, without exhausting them. With only a few small breaks for the mounts to rest, munch on some grass and drink water when they had cooled down enough, they arrived at San Diego just before nightfall.

The tracks were fresher the closer they got to their destination, so Diego was keeping the doctor's spirits up as well as he could, but he was becoming worried to realize the men were still miles ahead of them and they knew where they were going, while himself and the doctor only had a vague idea.

Since it was impossible to continue fallowing the tracks in the darkness of the night, they decided to take a room in San Diego, intended to return to their pursuit as soon as there was enough light to see outside.

However, since he expected to meet with the abductors – if they were still on land – Diego decided to ride out in the morning as Zorro in order to try and stop the men before boarding any boat that might take them to sea. If all went well, he might be able to return to San Diego with both the men taken and their abductors, before anyone missed him. Therefore, he decided not to sleep and, instead, tried to remember all he had been thought about diving by the sailors he had met on his journeys to and from Europe.

ZZZ

Three days after Manuel and the other men were taken, the abductors changed their means of transportation. A few miles south of San Diego, they had been met by two other men, then had moved onto a boat, which headed in the moonlight towards the open sea. At that point, the young man had begun to lose his hope of ever seeing either his old father or the woman he loved again.

Their destination seemed, initially, to emerge from the sea. First the masts and the craw's nest, then the hull, decks and, finally, the whole ship. For a few seconds, curiosity mingled with the fear in his heart and a small part of him looked forward to finding out the reason for their abduction.

"The new recruits?" A tall, well-built man asked as the boat lightly collided with the ship and a rope ladder was lowered.

One by one, they climbed aboard, first one of their abductors, than the four of them, followed by the rest of the men who had taken them. The tall man took a good look at each of them, seemingly assessing their strength.

"I guess they'll have to do." He eventually decided. "The Commander said they are the last ones you are to bring south for now. We need a few more, but I guess they'll have to do for the time being. Apparently some hound is on your trail."

"Is that why you changed the safe house?" One of the men who had brought them asked.

"Yes. The idiot discovered it. We couldn't risk remaining there." The man who seemed in charge of the ship answered. "Take them to the cages and give them some food. They look famished, and we need them in good condition."

'Cages', Manuel soon found, was the perfect term to describe their accommodations. Three other men were already in the one he was unceremoniously thrown in. They were wearing wet clothes and were trembling, two of them in rather poor condition. A shiver went down his spine at realizing he will soon be in no better shape than those poor men who no longer cared that they were sitting in their own excrements, which littered the cell's floor.

"What do they want from us?" The man who had been the driver of the stagecoach he had boarded in Monterey asked from the next cell after their captors had left.

"They want us to recover a treasure from the bottom of the sea." One of the men answered. "They put a strange helmet on us which helps us breath a little under water. Not much, though. It only holds a few breaths. Then they give us a cannonball to take us to the seafloor and pull us up after we collect a small barrel full of gold pieces."

"But… But I can't swim, and I'm afraid of closed spaces. I can't help them! I need to tell them!" The driver announced in a clearly panicked voice, part of him hoping that he might be freed under the circumstances.

"You'd better keep your mouth shut and do what they ask, or you become fish food." One of the wet men told him. "They kill those who are useless to them."

"Why haven't you fought back? How many are they?" Manuel asked.

"Too many. Plus they are armed and there are never enough of us in one cell to pose any trouble." One of the older prisoners replied.

"The only way we get out of here is by some miracle." Another one stated.

"Or, most probably, dead." Another man added.


	6. The Hound

Antonia Isabela Chamorro de Silva had led a life far from ordinary.

Ever since she was a child, people had noted she was not like the other girls of her age. She was neither religious; nor interested in gossip; she never planned her wedding nor had she ever fantasized with her friends about how she wished her groom to be; she never saw herself as a mother, had never shone away from learning to do things around normally reserved for men yet hated embroidery and other trivial occupations women were expected to know. Except cooking, which she had always loved. She had an inquisitive, analytical mind and a prodigious memory. She loved horse riding and drove all her tutors mad with the million questions she needed answered.

Having lost her mother when she was a toddler, and having been neglected by her father and much-older sisters through most of her life, she had also, even at a young age, learned to depend on herself and confide in her abilities alone.

Born the youngest of three daughters of a Spanish landowner, by the time she was seventeen, her father had lost, through gambling and horseraces, most of the fortune he had inherited. One day, the man, who had never much cared for his third-born, simply informed her that he had found her a husband. It had been mostly a business transaction for him. One of the men he was indebted to was in search of a young wife, and he happened to have a young daughter.

A few weeks later, Antonia was standing in front of an altar, face-to-face with a man she had never seen before, one who was nineteen years her senior, pledging her life to him.

Her husband was not someone she would have chosen for herself. On the other hand, she wasn't sure she would have ever chosen a husband at all, had she been given the choice.

Gael, as the man's name was, had never made an effort to get to know her. The only reason he had even gone through the trouble of marrying her was the fact that an inheritance he was to receive from a rich uncle was conditioned on him having a wife.

He had tried to make the marriage work, though. At least, to make it work for him, because his perspective on relationships was twisted to say the least, a sad truth that Antonia only found that out later. So, slowly, instead of getting closer, they drifted apart.

About two years into their marriage, Gael had started acting stranger than he normally did. He was taking longer and longer business trips with increasing frequency, and paying Antonia less and less attention, many times even ignoring her presence in the house. Then came the strange new friends. They seemed well-bred and polite but something about them made Antonia's hair stand up when in their presence. Fortunately, she rarely saw them since, whenever they'd visit, Gael made sure to dismiss the help for the night, and confine his wife to her room.

At first, she could do little else but enjoy his absences. Not even the evenings spent locked inside her quarters bothered her, even if she sometimes heard him turn the key from the outside just as she was about to go down for dinner. An empty stomach was preferable to his company and certainly a small price to pay to avoid the men whose company he kept.

After adapting to her circumstances, as soon as she realized that she had all the freedom granted to a married woman whose husband felt no jealousy towards her, Antonia decided to take the opportunity and pursue her own passion for knowledge.

However, with no more tutor to learn from, and nothing new to read at home, having already gone through all the books in her house, she set her sight on the university's library. Accessing it presented a few problems, however. The main one was that she needed to be enrolled in the university, and women were not allowed to attend institutions of higher education. Married women also depended on their husbands, so, even if, by some miracle, she was to be accepted, she would have needed Gael's permission to actually attend.

Pondering over her options, the solution to her problem fell into her lap one day as she was walking the streets of Madrid and saw a theatre group performing.

Some five weeks after she first got the idea, disguised with a wig and a fake beard, and dressed in a brand new caballeros suit she had fashioned herself, Antonia walked through the doors of the Complutense University of Madrid. She held her head up high and headed straight for the commission assessing the next year's candidates for admission. Two months and several exams later, she received the confirmation that her request had been accepted and she was to enroll in classes beginning that fall.

It felt like an early birthday present, since she was to turn 20 at the end of the year.

Antonia returned home that day feeling that her life was finally on the right track towards a future she still couldn't define, but one which would give her the chance to find her own path.

At entering the large mansion, thought, she almost stumbled upon her husband and his friends in their dining room. Gael had dismissed the servants and had locked her room without having even checked if his wife was there.

She silently headed upstairs but stopped in her tracks when she heard them talking. For what she had never considered before was that her life was already on track, her destiny already unfolding ever since the day she had been forced to say 'I do' to a stranger. It was, however, not a future anyone, her included, had ever envisioned for Antonia.

The following three months she, thus, dedicated to the pursuit of her husband and his friends. In all that time, she had gathered proof of their wrongdoings and even managed to save an innocent girl whom they planned to rape and murder, as they had done with others before her. Antonia never even considered how lucky she had been that her husband had not done the same to her, nor had she felt even an ounce of fear when she saved the girl, even if she risked being caught. All she cared about was to prevent those men from harming anyone else.

Through that act of bravery and on her way to stopping those monsters, she met a man. Not one she would fall in love with, but one she would partner with. Armando was a smart and loving man, and the girl she had saved was the niece he had raised as a daughter, since her parent had died when she was but a todler.

Their ways parted around the same time her way parted from that of her husband's. She had witnessed his hanging and those of his cohorts, and she had felt no sadness for his passing. Antonia refused to wear black as a widow should, sold all the properties she inherited from him, and bough two of her own: a large house just on the outskirts of Madrid, fit for a wealthy widow, and a small apartment in the Center, fit for a student. From then on she led a double and, on occasion, a triple life.

After graduating under the name of Don Paulo Sanz, having already assisted the police with several cases during the last four years, she decided to become a detective. Spending her life pretending to be of another gender than the one she had been born with, however, was not ideal and she had much to lose if she was to be discovered. It was then when she re-encountered a heartbroken Armando, who had lost his niece to childbirth and had been wasting away ever since, spending all the money he had on alcohol and women.

Antonia was, at the time, just beginning to make a name for herself as a detective when, while on a case, she found him half-dead on a back alley, in one of Madrid's most ill-reputed neighborhoods. Three men had mugged him, then beaten him up, then left him there to slowly die from his injuries. Drunk and in bad shape, he had stood no chance against them, nor did he even bother to fight back.

The young woman took him home and cared for him and, when he recovered, she made him an offer. She saved him from slowly wasting away his life, gave him a purpose, and he became her partner. Together the two became El Sabueso/ The Hound.

Since she, as a woman, would not have been taken seriously in the only profession she wanted for herself, Armando, thus, became The Hound's public face. Only pretending he was the detective for as long as it served their purposes. The officials who had employed them had always remained in the dark about the real detective's name and gender but that mystery contributed to El Sabueso's increasing fame.

Furthermore, the particular type of anonymity that came from their partnership also gave Antonia a certain freedom of movement she would not have had otherwise, since nobody looking for the most famous Spanish detective, would have even glanced twice in her direction.

Together, Antonia and Armando spent years travelling all throughout Spain and several neighboring countries, assisting the officials with tracking down and capturing the most dangerous and elusive criminals.

The same work brought her to California when the Alcalde of Los Angeles called The Hound to help him catch the outlaw Zorro. That had happened about a year earlier and, despite having managed to find out the true identity of the masked outlaw, Antonia realized that his case was like no other she had pursued. Zorro wasn't a criminal but a savior. So she did the only thing she could do and refused to fulfill her contract assuming the financial costs of the entire pointless journey.

She did tell Diego who she was before leaving Los Angeles, if for no other reason, because she hated the idea that a man, even one such as he, might have been left with the wrongful assumption that he had outsmarted her.

That was how a fox and a hound parted, both aware of who the other one was and of the mask they wore, both trusting the other with their secret.

ZZZ

Antonia and Armando had spent two months in Monterey and San Francisco after they left Los Angeles, assisting with some rather easy cases there, then made their way west, towards Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico and Texas. In December 1820, however, they decided to return to California and, from there, head back to Spain. Their return to Monterey, however, coincided with a series of puzzling disappearances which had left the authorities baffled.

As soon as he was informed about El Sabueso's return, the Governor hired the detective to help with the investigation. After hearing the specifics of the case, Armando and Antonia discussed their requests, and a list of them was presented and accepted the following day.

Soon after, the two made their way south by ship.

In San Diego, Don Armando found religion, the same day he arrived already heading to the Mission San Luis Rey where he passed for a monk, while Antonia, whose disguise would have made her impossible to recognize by her own father at that point, found herself a job at one of the taverns.

There she worked hard while patiently gathering information by eavesdropping on all conversations which seemed even remotely interesting for the case. A word slipped out by mistake here, an involuntary observation there, Antonia noted them all and, soon enough, she already knew where to begin looking. So, after the innkeepers closed the tavern at night, she would go out through her small room's window, take a horse from the stables and search the coast.

A week after she first spotted the boats heading to and coming from the open sea, realizing people were most probably dying, Antonia decided she needed to intervene.

Armando thus made his way back to San Diego, changed his monk robe for his normal clothes in the tavern's stables, and headed for El Presidio. About an hour later he hurriedly did the reverse exchange.

"What happened?" Antonia asked as he was gluing back his fake beard.

"He asked two of his men to arrest me. I escaped when they were taking me to the cells."

"What? Have you told him who you are? Who it was to have hired you?"

"I did. Lo siento, Cerbellito, but something else is going on here. I understand the need to hurry, but, for once, we don't have the upper hand. Someone must have gotten to the commander or he has information we don't." Don Armando told her.

"Perhaps he's also involved. I did not consider that." She uttered. "The next shipment should come tonight. If anything changes, we'll know he has warned them."

"If the commander is in on it, what do we do? We cannot take them down on our own." Armando stated.

"I'll write the Governor for troops. But to do so, I need to be certain of the man's involvement."

"If you are right and people are dying, we need to do something urgently."

"We will, Armando. We will." She said, pensively.

"Can't you ask your friend for help? He owes you one for not betraying him."

"My friend?"

"Zorro!" Armando whispered. "I understand you don't want me to know who he is and I know it's for my own safety, but isn't the life of those men worth it? I will not betray him, just as I will never betray you."

"Why would he get involved? He's got enough on his plate in Los Angeles. No, Armando. We need to wait for reinforcements. There's nothing we can do in the meantime." She answered, although she started considering writing to Diego. "I will supervise the situation here. You return to the Mission and I'll send word when I'll need you."

"You are in charge, Antonia, and I will do what you say. But I don't like it. Just do us both a favor and stay safe. You will hardly be able to help anyone if you get yourself killed."

That night, after Armando left, true to her word, Antonia made her way to the place she knew to be the abductors' safe house, a few miles down the coast, and found the place deserted. Consequently, dressed in a dark man's attire, she started monitoring the presidio, taking notes of the coming and going of the lancers and of their commander and even broke into the small office used to keep the public records, from which she took a copy of the Presidio's blueprints. She didn't yet have a plan on how to use it, but her instinct told her it would soon come in handy.


	7. An Unexpected Reacquaintance

The tavern was soon to close and Antonia was thinking about Diego, wondering if, perhaps, he might be somehow convinced to lend a hand when, as if invoked, that very man came through the inn's doors, accompanied by Doctor Hernandez. They were both in a bad mood, but politely greeted her and the innkeepers, asking and being offered two rooms, then headed upstairs without giving any sign that they had recognized her.

Half an hour later, having offered to close for the night, she headed to the small storage room where the innkeepers kept the items left behind by their former guests, either on purpose or, in most cases, by mistake. She emerged ten minutes later with a vaquero's large blouse and a pair of simple long pants which she hid in her room.

ZZZ

Very early in the morning, hours before anyone else was awake, Zorro left the tavern on his black mare and returned to where he had last seen the tracks. From there, he followed them for a little over an hour, until reaching the beach. A trace left by a boat the sea had not yet been able to erase convinced him he was already too late. A few hours, at least. Checking the area, he noticed that another boat was left face-down on the shore, not far from where the imprints of the horseshoes had led him. He considered using it to get to the ship if he could not find any other option. The boat was rather large, intended for at least 8 people, and a single man would have had to make a considerable effort to row it. Getting to an unknown location, without any chance to find out what to expect once there, was a task problematic enough without adding the strenuous effort needed to get there, so he knew he needed a smaller boat and hoped to be able to find one.

With a sigh and renewed concern for his friend, he returned to the tracks, noticing that the horses seemed to have been guided in another direction from there. Deciding to follow them, he soon arrived at a fisherman's house, situated less than half a mile away. The place would have seemed deserted were it not for the horses left unguarded in an improvised corral. Entering the house, he was unable to detect any human presence and only the remains of what looked like a frugal dinner indicated it was inhabited.

Lacking the time to wait for someone to return, since the absence of his mare from the stables might soon be noticed, he went back to the tavern, just in time to leave the horse and get back to his room before the owner went out to feed the animals. Finally back in his bed, he allowed himself a few hours of rest.

Doctor Hernandez was the first one up that morning – for all he knew, – and realized it was already rather late. Checking his watch, he saw that he had slept for nine hours, which was extremely rare in his case. Desperate to return to the pursuit of the men who had taken his son, he got dressed in a hurry and knocked on Diego's door.

The younger man woke up and invited him in to let him know the results of his unscheduled morning ride.

"Gone? They are already gone?" He asked as soon as Diego had finished, feeling his legs giving up under him.

"Not gone. Just, not on land anymore…" Diego tried to encourage him. "We can find a solution. I will talk to the Presidio's Commander and tell them what we have found."

"You can't do that, Diego. It would be like painting a target on your back. No…there must be another way to save my son; one that doesn't involve you losing your life."

"Perhaps we can discuss strategy over breakfast." Diego suggested and the doctor approved.

The taproom was not very busy when they got there, most guests having already had their breakfast by that time. After deciding for a corner table that would make it hard for others to eavesdrop on their conversation, they placed their breakfast order and started considering their options.

"I know some fishermen from who I might be able to rent a boat." Diego suggested, considering if that was a good moment to tell the doctor that he would need to go alone. He also knew he had to wait at least half a day longer before leaving, in order to only arrive at the ship after nightfall, when he stood a chance to climb aboard without being spotted.

"We will need to come up with a good excuse on why we need a boat." The Doctor underlined.

"Fishing?" Diego suggested.

"Why do you need one at all?" The woman bringing their food asked.

Diego, a little startled to realize she had overheard their conversation, turned towards her trying to say something, and then went silent.

"They seem to be needing strong men. Why not volunteer? They would take you themselves to their ship, and you don't even need to wait until sunset." She continued, glancing at Diego, just as she was pouring their coffee.

The doctor was confused by the young woman's words, and stared intently at his companion, wondering what he should say. Diego said nothing, just smiled at the woman.

"Am I to understand you're on the case, Señorita?" He asked her with a grin, crossing his arms and leaning on the wall behind him.

"Me? I am just a tavern helper. What would I know about the missing men being taken out to the sea in the middle of the night, or the boats returning with heavy barrels on them every few days?" She asked with a sly smile directed at Diego. "Enjoy your breakfast, Señores! I shall see you later when I'll be coming to change the sheets in your rooms, starting with yours, Don Diego."

"What in the world was that about?" The Doctor asked as the woman returned to the kitchen. "You know her? She seems familiar, but I don't remember having seen her before."

"I, on the other hand, remember you complimented her cooking rather often when she was working for Victoria." Diego answered.

"Complimented her cooking? What are you talking about, Diego?" The doctor asked but remembered as soon as the words came out of his mouth. "You mean…that is Señorita Paula?"

"Yes." Diego answered. "Also known as El Sabueso…"

"The Hound? But I thought that was Don Armando…" Doctor Hernandez protested. "How can a woman be a detective?"

"Oh, doctor… that is no ordinary woman. That is a woman who could have turned me in and decided not to, despite the risk she was assuming." Diego stated pensively.

"So…she knows? Why hasn't she…I mean, the detective was hired by the Alcalde…" The doctor asked.

"Apparently she doesn't consider me a criminal and refuses to catch anything less…" Diego commented.

"She might still change her mind, though. I'd be very careful, Diego."

"I believe she would have done that already. But she does have a point…"

"A point? What point?"

"Volunteer. I could get on that ship…"

"We! We could get on that ship!" Doctor Hernandez corrected.

"I would have better chances by myself, Doctor. They only seem to care for younger men and…"

"I am a doctor and my son is on that ship. We'll convince them that they need both of us!"

Diego smiled at the determined older man, wondering if that might work.

A little later, as they were in Diego's room, making the final preparations and studying a medicine book the doctor had the inspiration to pack, they heard a knock on the door. The woman was let in and made sure to lock the door behind her.

Doctor Hernandez tried to see Señorita Paula, but Paula was a thin blonde with curly hair, while the woman standing before him was a brunette with straight, long hair. This woman was also a little…rounder…then Paula, with fuller eyebrows that united above her nose.

"Señorita Paula?" He asked. "Is that really you?"

"It is, indeed, Doctor Hernandez. But now I am Maria." She answered with a smile. "Here, Don Diego!" She uttered, taking some brown clothes from under the fresh sheets she was carrying and handing them to the young caballero. "You might need these."

Diego took them and realized they were typical vaquero clothes.

"They will not want to take either a don or a masked legend, so I thought these were more appropriate." She explained when he looked at her inquisitively. "A vaquero forgot them here a few weeks back and I thought they might be approximately your size. The shirt is probably too big but the pants are adjustable and should have the right length."

"How long have you been following this case?" Diego questioned.

"I've been here about 10 days. A little after the fifth missing person was reported and the news got to Monterey, the Governor asked me to investigate. Well…He asked Armando…"

"Don Armando…Is he also here?" Diego asked, wondering if the man could be trusted.

"No. I asked him to stay at the San Luis Rey Mission and wait for me there. He is a monk now…" She answered with a chuckle. "Anyway…from what I was able to deduce, they are trying to recover some treasure from the bottom of the ocean. They have been carrying heavy barrels back to a house near the beach three times during the past eight days. As for the men taken, it is my opinion that they are being used as divers."

"That is also our suspicion…Why haven't you come forward with the information?" Diego asked. "The authorities could have already intervened."

"I did that once, a few days back, as soon as I thought I knew their schedules. I had Armando get here and inform the new Commander of the Presidio, but he almost got himself arrested instead. Let's say I started suspecting the man is involved in all of this, considering his reaction and the fact that the hideout was suddenly moved to another house, some two miles away from the first one. But I did also send a note to the Governor a few days ago and asked for his men to be sent here. I am, however, unsure who else is involved in all this."

"If the Commander is involved, he might shed some light on the entire affair." Diego remarked.

"True. But it will be hard to demonstrate, unless I catch him red-handed. Meanwhile, those people on the ship need help." She answered. "I will stay here and keep my eyes open, but there is not much I can do for them by myself."

"You may have already done more than enough." Diego remarked.

"If you are serious about going out there, you might want to find a way to conceal at least a knife, or a small blade on you." She advised. "Whoever they are, they are dangerous. I suspect some of the men they took might already be dead, which is why I decided to act before having all the facts."

"I fear the same." Diego noted.

"If they are using them as divers, they might be dying because of a too rapid return to the surface or because they might be forced to dive too deep." She stated.

"How would you know that?" The doctor asked.

"University, in fact." She answered.

"University? What university?" Diego inquired, knowing full well that women were not allowed to receive a university degree in that day and age.

"The same one you attended." She answered to his surprise. "The professors still had some fond memories of you, when I was there…Especially Sir Kendall."

"You attended Madrid University? How?" Diego asked.

"Well…I might be a woman, but there was no reason for them to know that, was there?" She replied with a sly grin. "Sir Kendall was the only one who realized I was deceiving everybody, but he decided to keep my secret. I owe a lot to that man."

"So you knew I had studied under Sir Kendall, before you came to Los Angeles?" Diego wondered.

"I did. I was even considering enlisting your help when I arrived. At least, until I heard people's opinions of 'Don Diego' and realized that the picture they drew had nothing in common with the man Sir Kendall had convinced me you were. I also realized early on that what De Soto had written when asking for my help was far from true. Had it been someone else behind the mask, a common criminal, I would have had no remorse for turning him in. As things stand, I can't but sympathize with your cause. I must say...I never did expect to meet a modern-day Robin Hood in California." She confessed.

"Modern-day Robin Hood? I never heard that comparison before…" Diego uttered "Señorita, you remain a woman full of surprises…We might make a good team should you ever decide to return to Los Angeles."

"If I ever consider settling for living my life in one place, I just might. But don't hold your breath, Don Diego!" She teased. "Speaking of which…returning to the case at hand…if they are recovering a treasure from a shipwreck as I suspect, that means they must be using some sort of diving suit or device. If you 'volunteer', you might also want to think of a way to stage your death so that you might be free to …do what you'll have to do to set those men free.

Now, I'd better go, Señores. I will soon be missed. I hope you don't mind changing the sheets yourself, seeing how I didn't have the time to do it." Maria added right before exiting the door, looking at Diego and wondering if he had ever changed a bedsheet in his entire life.

Diego considered her idea and soon realized she had a point. Locked in a cell, as he was probably going to be once on the ship, he could hardly help the other men, so he needed to make them believe he was dead. Unfortunately, he had not considered such an idea before leaving home or he would have taken some precautions. As things stood, his only opportunity at escape was when they were to force him to dive. Therefore, he went to the market, set on acquiring a soft leather water pouch which, after filling it with animal blood, he fied it on his chest with the doctor's help and some well-placed bandages. He also made sure to similarly hide a dagger, on his right leg.

They left half an hour later, informing the tavern owner that they were going to visit with a friend of Doctor Hernandez who resided outside the pueblo, if anyone should ask. Before leaving, however, Diego took the precaution of entrusting his sword to Maria and asked her to meet them a few miles down the road, for him to give her his saddlebags with his clothes, after changing in the ones she had provided him with.


	8. A Fox on a Ship

Manuel was unable to sleep in the dirty cell. He found a rather clean spot and sat down, resting his tired legs and trying to go over his options but, otherwise, closing his eyes and give himself to sleep was impossible for the young man. Others, the men who had been there for a longer time, were snoring loudly, surrendered to dreams of freedom.

Two crewmembers woke everyone up around 8 in the morning, when the sun was already beginning to warm the ocean's water. The prisoners were fed a few slices of bread and roasted fish, as the preparations were being made for the day's dives to begin.

About an hour after they had finished their breakfast, one of the men Manuel had traveled with was taken out of his cell. He was thin and short, about twenty-five years of age, and the father of three young children. He was also completely terrified that he might never see them again.

Another hour passed until they brought him back, soaking wet and coughing severely, his boots gone and his skin almost blue. The man was in such a bad state that he found it impossible to even stand on his feet, preferring to crawl on the dirty pavement.

"The idiot moved his head and almost drowned!" One of their captors commented. "You're next!" He told the coach driver.

The man had to be dragged out as he was begging to be spared, and an hour later the men who took him returned by themselves and asked if there were any volunteers at that moment.

"Where's Señor Ramos?" Manuel asked as they were leaving with one of the men from his cell who had mentioned that he was two dives away from freedom and wanted to get it over with.

"He's not feeling well, I'm afraid." A man replied sarcastically.

Manuel said a silent prayer for the poor driver, hoping he was still alive, and did his best to rein on his fear. His father had always told him that dying is easy, surviving being the hard part, and he had every intention to survive if that was, at all, possible.

He focused his mind on the woman he loved, trying to remember her sweet face, her smell, her rosy lips and her beautiful light brown hair cascading over her shoulders. In his mind, he escaped the cage and was taking a walk with her, looking for the house they would have liked to live in.

"Please, God!" He muttered. "I just want to see her one more time. And I want to see my father. Make sure the two of them will be alright if my time is near!"

It was already noon when the 'volunteer' was brought and thrown in the cell. The man was in a very bad shape and Manuel doubted he might survive another plunge into the abyss. No wonder they promised everyone they would be free after 5 dives since it was improbable anyone might make it.

They did not take another right away, but feed them broth first and granted them an hour's reprieve after the meal. When they returned, it was Manuel's turn. He covered his eyes with a hand when he got upstairs, as the sunlight was blinding. He looked around at the men who were watching him, betting among themselves on his ability to survive. The chances were five to three against him from what he could overhear.

After being forced to abandon his boots on the deck, he was lowered into a boat, a helmet placed on his head and strapped to his body. He paid attention to the instructions and did his best to obey them, knowing it was his only chance to survive. Then the dive began. He went down fast, the cannonball attached to his ankle soon joining others on the ocean's floor. Around him, the ground was littered with old pieces of gold, most of them small stones, but also some artisanal objects. His oxygen was running out fast, though, so he hurried to fill in the small barrel he was carrying, then signaled to be brought back and felt himself rapidly ascend to the surface. Halfway through, Manuel would have sworn that his head was about to explode but there was nothing he could do to stop the ascension.

They gave him some minutes to rest, lying in the boat, willing his head to stop throbbing and his coughing out water, then they forced him back on the deck and two men carried him to the cell.

A man – a dry man – immediately helped him as they threw him inside. 

ZZZ

Making their way towards the house where he had seen the horses, they noticed it was now populated by four men. After the doctor reassured him, once more, that he understood the risks, and Diego made sure his whip was at hand, they headed there.

"Buenos días, Señores!" Diego greeted. The men were not expecting company, so they became suddenly agitated.

"We are here looking for a missing caballero, but we lost his tracks some miles up north from here. Have you seen any stranger, by any chance?" Diego inquired as the men looked confused at each other. "The gentleman here is the caballero's father, Doctor Maranon." He continued.

"And you are?" One of the men asked.

"I am José Villanueva. I am a tracker." He answered.

"Are you from around here, Señor?" The same man demanded to know.

"No… I am from San José. We both are." Diego stated, observing the men's reaction.

The man who had asked returned to the others. After a short whispered conversation, they all drew their pistols and pointed them towards the two.

"I am sorry, Señor, but I don't believe you will be continuing your journey! We have been looking for a doctor and this is too good an opportunity to miss." The armed man stated. "If you'd be so kind as to dismount…"

Diego and Doctor Hernandez raised their hands in surrender and did as the man had ordered.

Soon, they were tied up and loaded into a boat, headed towards a ship, some twenty miles away from the shore. Once onboard, a few hours later, the men told the commander they had brought a doctor and asked Hernandez to see some of the men under deck who were sick. Diego was put in a cell smelling like vomit, human excrements, and some other unidentifiable odors, where three other men were being kept. He couldn't help but notice that their state was quite deplorable, two of them being afflicted by rashes and the third experiencing joint pain serious enough that he was barely able to stand. The dirty clothes they were each wearing were partly soaked, which clearly added to their discomfort. Ten other men, in similar condition, were also distributed between two cells situated next to the one he was in.

About half an hour after his arrival, the doctor's son was also thrown in, all soaked and coughing water. Diego rushed to help him up and asked the men who had brought him to fetch the doctor. They smiled mockingly and answered that the doctor had more urgent cases to attend to, but agreed to bring him later. Manuel Hernandez almost gave Diego up when he saw him, were it not for a discreet head shake he rapidly understood.

They could not talk to each other without being overheard, so Diego helped him while he was coughing out water and soon decided on a different approach.

"Do you know why we are here?" He asked no one in particular.

"Si, Señor!" A man answered bitterly. "We are prisoners."

"I do not understand." Diego faked being much less intelligent and far more naïve than he was. "I did nothing wrong. I am just a tracker, on my way with a doctor to find his missing son, and these men I asked for directions attacked us and forced us to come here." Diego stated. "Taking Doctor Maranon to see some people who are ill, I understand, but why me?"

The doctor's son had received the message: Diego was there because he had been looking for him and his father was also on the ship, using a fake name. However, having been a friend of Diego's since they were youngsters, growing up in the same pueblo, and having met with him several times after he had returned from Spain, either in Monterey or when he had visited Los Angeles, Manuel Hernandez was at a loss to understand why a caballero known for his lack of practical skills was now risking his life searching for him.

"Because you look young and strong." Another one of the prisoners explained. "They found a treasure at the bottom of the sea and we are all the unwilling 'volunteers' who will help them recover it. If we are lucky enough to survive, they might let us go. But I heard that some people have died just after they started the dives, a couple of weeks back and others that were here when they brought me have meanwhile been moved to other parts of the ship when they got ill." He continued with fear in his voice.

"Do you know how many men are there on the ship?" Diego asked. "Our captors, I mean."

"Nine or ten, I would say. But what does it matter? We are prisoners and they only take one of us at a time, so there's nothing we can do. The only way out is if we recover all that gold for them. So do us all a favor and play your part!" The man replied.

"But I am not a diver, it must be a mistake. Do you know who is in charge? Perhaps I can talk to him… explain that I cannot swim." Diego suggested.

The man laughed at the idea. "All I have heard is that they answer to some Commander. That's the only way they refer to him. But don't worry about swimming, amigo, all you need to do is sink…"

Several hours later, after another man had been taken from and returned to one of the other cells, just as the sun was beginning to set, the doctor was brought to see to Manuel. He almost forgot their circumstances, and reached to hug his son when Diego discretely stopped him. Remembering he needed to prevent the captors from knowing that the young man was in any way familiar to him, he pretended to see him as nothing more than another patient and the young man sensed he was not supposed to say anything either.

"He is in bad shape." The doctor stated after examining him, intended on finding a reason to buy his son some time, unsure of how soon or even if Diego would be able to get them out of the situation they were in. "He must be kept away from the water at least a week to make a full recovery."

"A week?" Came the answer of an outraged crew member. "I might give him two days, as usual, but not longer. You just make sure he makes at least five dives. Whoever gets to five dives wins his freedom." The man mocked. Given the fact that the crew hardly had any experience with being at sea, they had no idea how to make the dives safer, so, by that point, for one reason or another, no one had survived more than three dives. "Now, which one of you wants to go next?" He asked the men in the cell.

"I'll go." Diego answered, pretending to believe the promise of freedom. "You give me your word that you'll free me after I make five jumps?"

"A brave one!" The crew member commented. "Don't worry amigo. If you make five jumps, I give you my word I'll take you myself back to land."

Diego pretended to believe him and followed the three crew members accompanying him, giving the doctor a reassuring nod as he passed by him. On the deck, he was asked to take off his boots and was lowered into a boat, where a cord was tied around his body as the men explained what was expected of him. They had found the wreckage of a two-hundred-years-old Spanish frigate filled with Mayan gold and were anchored right above it. The 'volunteer' divers were given a small barrel and were expected to fill it, as fast as they could, with whatever gold they could get their hands on. Once loaded, they would signal the men in the boat and would be rapidly pulled up by the cord. To make the descent faster, the 'volunteers' were also given a cannonball to tie to their ankle, but in such a way that they could easily release the extra weight when it was no longer necessary.

In order to see and breathe underwater, a round iron and glass helmet was put on his head and fixed with a sort of harness around his shoulders and the upper part of his chest. Diego needed no more than one look at the helmet to realize the problem with such a device. While it would manage to allow for limited-time breathing and some visibility, the diver needed to keep his head up straight or the air could escape and he would drown. Combined with the 'brilliant idea' of a cannonball tied to one's ankle, that meant that, even if the diver managed to keep his limited reservoir of oxygen, his body would still be severely affected by the fast descent and similar ascension back. The low temperature of the ocean's water was just one more factor contributing to the abducted men's declining health.

Equipped with the acquired knowledge, as well as with the barrel and the cannonball, Diego was lowered into the water. As he was descending, he rapidly released the cannonball leaving it to fall to the bottom of the ocean, then brought his right leg up to get his knife and cut the rope around his waist. As the helmet was also weighing heavy on him, forcing his descent, although at a lower speed, he took a deep breath and unstrapped it, leaving it to also fall to the bottom. Then, he started swimming towards the surface, stopping every few feet for a few seconds, just as the sailors had once taught him to do. When he was just a few feet under the boat, he cut the leather pouch he had attached to his chest and let the blood rise to the surface.

As soon as he did that, he swam towards the back of the ship where he was able to emerge and take a few breaths of air before cutting off the bandages around his chest, thus releasing the pouch. When that was done and fully aware of the fact that the blood should attract any shark close enough to sense it, he used the rudder to climb to the captain's cabins.

Taking advantage of the fact that the crew was alarmed, searching for him and worrying about potential shark attacks, he found some dry clothes which he hurried to put on, and, after cutting and tossing the vaquero pants and blouse he had been wearing into the ocean, he wiped out any traces indicating his presence in the room. Before leaving, however, he spotted a bandana and decided to take it in order to use it as a mask, covering with it the lower half of his face. After that, he made his way carefully, by trial and error, towards the storage room, where he hid behind some barrels.

Diego waited there until it was fully dark outside. Once he was sure that nobody could spot him, he slowly climbed on deck and took out the four men on guard, one by one, doing his best to prevent them from sounding the alarm. When they were all unconscious, he gaged them and bound their hands and feet, then made his way back under deck, where the others were dining.

Pondering on how to proceed, he decided to wait for an opportunity to take out some more of the captors, before attacking.

Soon two of the men were sent with food for the prisoners. They never made it further than an adjacent corridor, but did wake up a while later, gagged and tied up neatly. Armed with a cutlass he had taken from one of them, Diego attacked the rest of the crew full-on, taking them by surprise. The men barely had the chance to draw their weapons. Finding themselves confronted with a much more able adversary, they were subdued in a matter of minutes and joined the rest of the men in the darkness of bound and gagged unconsciousness.

As soon as his job was done, Diego started inspecting the ship for any other crewmember that might have been hiding. He also really wanted to find his boots, so it was a double mission, easily accomplished. Satisfied there were no more enemies aboard to worry about, and having found Doctor Hernandez in one of the cabins, he asked the doctor to free his son and bring him on deck, telling the other prisoners he was doing so at the crew's request.

While the doctor hurried to get to Manuel, Diego let down the sails and weighed anchor, steering the frigate towards San Diego by taking full advantage of the soft breeze blowing from the West.

The doctor's son was still in a bad shape when he came on deck, some 20 minutes later, together with his father, who had had a rather difficult time finding his way around the ship. His own pain was forgotten, however, at seeing Diego, since, just like the crewmembers, he had also believed that his friend had perished during his dive.

"Manuel!" Diego exclaimed at seeing him, as he was holding on to the wheel. "How are you feeling, my friend?"

"How am I feeling? Diego, we thought you were dead…"

"Just misleading the enemy, amigo!"

"W…Why are you steering the ship? Where's the crew?" Manuel asked, unable to decide what to believe about the unexpected turn of events.

"Distributed among three cabins, tied up and gagged. They shouldn't pose any more trouble. But I will need your help."

"My help? I somehow start to doubt you need anyone's help. How on Earth did you manage to get all those men tied up? And how are you sailing the ship all by yourself?"

"Son," Doctor Hernandez intervened, "there are some questions that shouldn't be asked when it comes to Diego. All you need to know is that he cannot assume his deeds aboard this ship. For all anyone should know, he is currently south of San Diego, being treated for health issues. Should someone find out that either he or I were ever here, his life might be in danger. And mine."

Manuel looked at his father, trying to make sense of his words, then, at Diego, still unable to understand the curious turn of events.

"I am not sure I understand, but, if my help is needed, just tell me what you want me to do." He stated, glancing inquisitively between his father and his old friend.

"Well…"Diego uttered, "you could start by finding me some new clothes in the Captain's cabin and switching your current attire for the one I am wearing right now.

"As soon as we are about five miles from the port, with your help, I will stop the ship and set anchor. Then, together with your father, I'll take a boat and the recovered gold still on the ship and head for shore. After we are a couple of miles away and out of sight, you should free all the prisoners aboard, get them changed into dry clothes, - you will find enough in the crew's cabins -, see if there is anything you can do for those most afflicted by the dives, have them eat something and let them rest.

"As for the crew, it is up to you, but I would give them the chance to see a little better the interior of the cells where you've been kept.

"At dawn, board all the abducted men on the boats and make your way to the beach near San Diego. I will leave the horse there to help guide you and use it to get to town. Make sure you convince all the men to remain on the beach until you bring them help, and head for the tavern. Once there, ask for Señorita Maria – she is a black-haired woman, no older than 28, employed as a kitchen helper. Tell her who you are and what happened to you. She should be able to advise if you need to wait before going to the authorities, or if the Governor's men have already arrived. Do not, under any circumstances, go to the Presidio, unless the additional troops already made their way to San Diego, since the local Commander might very well be behind all this.

"Finally, I would appreciate it if you could take the credit for having taken out the crew and sailed the ship back to the port." Diego answered.

"I see…But who would believe that I was able to take down all these men by myself? I'm not sure even Zorro might be capable of such a feat!" As he said that, he saw his father bowing his head, doing his best to hide a smile.

"Dios!" He exclaimed, and turned towards Diego. "Zorro… did this!"

"I see no Zorro, my friend!" Diego answered calmly. "I believe he wears black and there is no masked man anywhere around, I can assure you. Not to mention it couldn't have been him, since it was you who, gathering all your courage and strength, took out the men on deck when they weren't careful. You did so by resorting to the use of some pressure points around their necks your father had taught you - I'll demonstrate a little later. You then waited in a hallway of the lower deck for some of the ones having dinner there to get out of the room, in order to do the same to a couple of them. Eventually, you took a cutlass from one of the two men and attacked the four crew members still eating their meal. Being a decent swordsman and using the element of surprise, you took them out with little effort."

"I must be a pretty good fighter to be able to do all that." Manuel remarked after hearing Diego's account.

"You most certainly are. The Doctor is very proud of your fighting skills, unlike my father who has raised a bookworm unable to handle a sword." Diego replied with a wicked grin.

After having changed clothes between them, Diego left Manuel to steer the ship and headed towards the Captain's rooms to find a looking glass and a compass. While it was hard for him to know exactly how far they were from the port, and fearing he might sink the ship if he sailed it too close to it, considering he was not an experienced sailor and had no crew, just his friend to help, he used the looking glass to spot the dim light indicating the location of the pueblo, and set anchor as soon as he managed to see it.

Further, he carried the almost-full barrel of recovered gold to the smallest boat he could find, lowered it with Manuel's help, and boarded it together with the doctor, who reluctantly took his goodbyes from his son.

"What do I tell them about Doctor Maranon if anybody should ask? And about the missing gold?" Manuel inquired just before Diego followed Doctor Hernandez into the boat.

"Tell them the doctor accidentally fell overboard and that you know nothing about the gold." Diego advised, after taking a minute to consider the possible options. Since both the crew and the prisoners had seen the doctor, it was impossible to hide his presence on board, and trying to do so would have only raised suspicions. The better option, Diego decided, was to make sure nobody searches for him, nor questions his true purpose aboard the ship. "Manuel," he added, "we will be taking rooms at the tavern, but we will be avoiding the town tomorrow and we will only arrive there at nightfall in order to avoid running into our esteemed Alcalde, or those who might recognize us under our aliases. When you talk to Señorita Maria, please make sure to ask her to reserve us two rooms. See you in Los Angeles, my friend!"

"I will do as you ask, Diego. Thank you, my friend!" Manuel answered. "Take good care of my father!"


	9. The missing treasure

"What are we going to do with all this gold, Diego?" Doctor Hernandez asked him as they were carrying the treasure-filled barrel towards the same house where they had been taken prisoners.

"Some of these pieces are of historical significance," Diego stated. "They belong in a museum and that is where they should be going. I will ask El Sabueso for help with making sure it doesn't get 'lost' on the way. The rest of the gold should go to the people who risked their lives for it and to the families of those who have died. Since I hardly trust the authorities to do the right thing, I will bury it for now and I will be back to reclaim it, after a list of those taken is compiled. Zorro will make sure they all get their due share."

After arriving at the house, Diego checked the corral and was happy to find there their own horses. Having made sure there was no trace indicating that anyone had been to the house since they had been taken to the ship, he left the doctor to get some rest and, mounted on his black mare and dragging behind one of the other horses, made his way to the beach near San Diego. After having decided on a good spot for the boats to reach the shore, easily visible from the ship, he tied the horse to a nearby rock and, considering he had hardly slept since the beginning of the journey, returned to the house to make up for it.

ZZZ

Doctor Hernandez returned to the tavern around 9 a.m., informing the owner that he had left Diego with a doctor friend of his, but the treatment was shorter than they had expected, so they intended to spend the night in his establishment and leave for Los Angeles the next morning. He also informed the detective, in private, about the developments on the ship, and recovered from her the things they had left behind, in order to take them to the house where their friend had remained to bury the gold.

"Was Manuel here?" The doctor asked as soon as they had some minutes alone, still unsure it had been a good idea to leave his son alone after all he had been through.

"He was here earlier to tell me about the room and inquire about the Governor's troops." She confirmed. "They left with him half an hour ago to recover the other men."

Letting out a breath he was holding at hearing the news, the doctor thanked the detective and made sure to ask her to pack some food for Diego and himself, since neither one had eaten since the previous morning.

Meanwhile, at the house, Diego selected the gold into two piles, putting the valuable pieces into a blanket and the rest in another, to bury, leaving the barrel there, empty. Finding a cave some three miles from the house, he proceeded in digging a deep hole in front of its entrance and leaving half of the gold there, making sure to cover it in such a way that nobody would suspect that the ground had been disturbed and to hide his tracks. The second pile he hid closer to the house, marking the place so it could be easily found by The Hound based on some written indications he intended to give her.

Diego wasted the rest of the day searching, together with Doctor Hernandez, for the gold that had been brought on the previous transports from the ship, but was unable to find it at the house or in its immediate vicinity.

The two returned to town, mounted on their horses, just as the tavern was closing for the night.

From the detective, they learned that the Governor's troops had brought back the abducted men and had impounded the ship. The crewmembers, arrested when the ship was boarded, had confirmed Manuel's story about how he took them out and set the prisoners free, never realizing it was another man behind the deed. De Soto and ten of his men had accompanied the troops dispatched from Monterey and everyone, including the victims, was currently resting in the quarters of the Presidio.

So far, the young woman had noticed that her own suspicions about the Commander – a certain Isidro Franco Timador – were not being reflected by the actions of the Governor's men, who had not taken any measure against him, so she suspected they had been dispatched before her letter arrived in Monterey. However, the most worrisome fact was that Commander Timador had requested his men to search for the missing gold and for the doctor that had been on board the ship, despite Manuel's claims that he had fallen overboard.

"Luis Ramone, our former Alcalde, used to keep the valuables he stole in his office. I wonder if Timador does the same." Diego uttered pensively, his mind already concocting a plan to make prove the Commander's involvement.

"He might, but I need more than a suspicion to send the troops in to check." THe detective underlined.

"That might be so but, if we don't stop him now, he will just wait a while and start over." Diego replied. "Do you have any suggestions as to how I can get into the Presidio and leave unnoticed?"

"Dressed in black and wearing a mask?" She recommended with a sly smile, rivaling his own. A few moments later, she left the room and returned with a folded paper. "This might help," she said, unfolding the document which proved to be a copy of the plan to the Presidio. "The night guards change every three hours and every time I have observed them the last few days. The men spend a few minutes gossiping before replacing one-another. I suggest you take advantage of their distraction. Furthermore, here" she indicated a point near the western wall, "they have deposited some barrels which could be used for a quick escape if you leave the horse on the other side of the wall."

Armed with a mental copy of the Presidio's plan, Zorro waited until the changing of the guards and made his way towards the main building, where the Commander's office and quarters were situated. Entering through a roof window, in a similar way he usually accessed the Alcalde's office, it took him a full hour to investigate all possible hideouts, before finding what he was looking for, under some floorboards. The space underneath was filled with two barrels containing the missing gold, as well as an old ship's log, mentioning the voyage of the ship carrying the treasure. Taking the ship's log with him, he made sure to leave the place looking intact, and returned to the tavern.

Once there, he ignored the late hour and made his way to the young woman's room to pass her the information regarding the place under the floorboard in the Commander's office where the gold was located.

ZZZ

Once again, THe Hound was forced to wait, this time in the company of Doctor Hernandez, impatiently pacing her room.

"Señorita," the doctor asked at some point "if you don't calm down, I will go mad. I'm already worried that my son is sleeping in the same building as the man responsible for his abduction and that Diego is walking into a Presido which is currently hosting over forty lancers."

"He'll be alright!" She replied, mostly trying to assure herself, then, taking a deep breath, she sat on an armchair, crossing her arms and leaning against its back.

"If he's caught…" the doctor suddenly uttered "will you be able to do anything for him? I mean…"

"No. I've already tried." She replied. "After I left Los Angeles a year ago I asked Armando to talk to the Governor about Zorro. He listened to what he had to say out of politeness, but obstinately dismissed every point he made. He said that, thus far, there are no reports of wrongdoings by De Soto but hundreds of reports of Zorro interference, ranging from stealing tax money to attacking the Royal Lancers and, although he understands that some circumstantial evidence should be taken into account, there are enough crimes on his record to send him to the gallows."

"Of course, De Soto has committed no crime. Zorro prevented them... At least you tried..." The doctor replied grimly.

"I would help him escape, though, if that should be necessary." She added and the man smiled at her.

"Let's hope it won't be…" The doctor said pensively. "He's the most resourceful man I have ever known. With a bit of luck, no one will even know he was there."

Antonia nodded and the room became quiet again. Some twenty minutes later, they heard a horse being led to the stables and, soon after, Zorro made his way in.

"Thank God!" Doctor Hernandez exclaimed at seeing him.

Diego just smiled and nodded as he took off the mask and went to change into his caballero clothes behind a screen.

"The gold is in Timador's office, under the floorboards right under his chair. Two barrels with the missing gold." He told the young woman. "It's all you need to get him arrested."

"I will call for Armando tomorrow morning... I appreciate your help, Don Diego! I'm not saying I wouldn't have done it without it, but it would have certainly taken longer… and time is not something those men had." She acknowledged as the two were about to exit her room.

The tall caballero grinned and nodded at her unique way of giving compliments. "For obvious reasons, we'll be leaving at dawn," he mentioned, "so allow us to also say 'Goodbye.'"

"Till the next time!" She grinned back.

"Hasta luego, Señorita!" Doctor Hernandez also uttered as they made their way out of her room.

ZZZ

Seeing that the town was infested with people who knew both Diego and Doctor Hernandez - under their real names, but also under the pseudonyms used to get on board the vessel - as well as the fact that there was no good explanation to the doctor's presence on the ship, nor to their deceit regarding the scope of their voyage and their whereabouts, they hurried to leave San Diego at dawn. They made their way north at the same rhythm as, just a few days before, they had headed south and stopped again at San Juan Capistrano Mission in order to spend the night.

Meanwhile, Don Armando – The Hound's public face - was being summoned to San Diego. Requesting, via confidential note, to meet with the Commander of the Governor's troops in private, at the tavern, he passed on the information obtained from Zorro regarding Commander Timador's involvement in the abductions and where the incriminatory evidence might be found. This time, in order to make sure he was being taken seriously, he also used the contract signed by the Governor when contracting the services of El Sabueso.

Early the next morning, Diego changed into his Zorro attire and made his way to the cave. Once there, he again crept through the hacienda towards Felipe's room, and, waking him up, he asked his son to accompany him. Felipe waited behind the same hill a few miles from the Mission for Diego to come with Doctor Hernandez, and took the mare, the Zorro attire and weapons back to the hacienda.


	10. Home

In the week Diego was away with Doctor Hernandez, the three people he loved most in the world could do little but be concerned about him.

Don Alejandro coped by burying his worries in work during the day and by spending every evening in the tavern, trying to occupy his mind with anything but thoughts of Diego wasting away due to all sorts of imaginary afflictions.

In his turn, Felipe, who worried about his adoptive father's chances to succeed in his mission without being outed as Zorro, spent most of his time considering plans to help Diego, should the worst scenarios come true.

Finally, Victoria was concerned both for her best friend and for her masked man.

Don Alejandro had shared his fears about his son with her and she did her best to encourage him. Yet, she found her own worries often drifting towards him. When she managed to cast the dark thoughts away, her mind started wondering about Zorro's latest visit. He had come by her the evening of the day Diego had left, and told her he was also leaving the pueblo for a while. He hadn't said for how long or where he was going, however, and she feared that he might never return to her. Yet, that was a fear she harbored most days when she didn't see him. Being so completely in love with a man whose true name she didn't know sometimes seemed the sheer definition of torture.

Unlike the three of them, though, Mendoza was quite content. Without De Soto, who had gone south with half of his men just a day after Diego, the pueblo faced no major crisis and things were more tranquil than usual. The good Sergeant had always liked being in charge of the garrison, as long as his responsibilities as temporary Alcalde were exactly that: temporary, and as long as there was not much work to be done. He was, thus, also glad Zorro seemed to have taken a holiday, and had not been seen in the pueblo since the evening when he had visited De Soto to ask what clues he had regarding the abduction cases. The Sergeant always hated commanding his lancers to pursue him in the useless attempt to capture him. After all, everyone knew that trying to catch Zorro was just like trying to capture the wind: tiresome and fruitless.

The one worry Mendoza had, though, was for Manuel Hernandez, who they had, meanwhile, found out had been among the men taken form the Monterey stagecoach. He only hoped he would not have to be the one to give the news to the old doctor.

With that in mind, the Sergeant made his way towards the tavern one day, just as the man he was thinking about and the young don whose health issues caused him to head for San Diego came into the pueblo. They seemed in a rather good mood and nothing indicated that either had received the news he was afraid to give. He gulped down as he realized that Diego and Doctor Hernandez had not met with De Soto and his men. That meant they didn't know about Manuel. Saying a silent prayer that the doctor would be able to face the news, he hurried towards them.

"Doctor Hernandez!" He exclaimed in a tone of voice emanating concern.

"Sergeant!" Diego answered with some amusement. "Where is the fire, my friend?"

"There is no fire, Don Diego. It's Manuel, Doctor Hernandez's son." The Sergeant was very serious and the men suddenly copied his worrisome face, doing their best to pretend they had no idea what had happened.

"My son?" The doctor asked with fake concern, but being quite convincing. "What is wrong with my son?"

"We looked for you a few days ago, but you had already left with Don Diego. He was one of the men taken from the stagecoach coming from Monterey the day before your departure." Mendoza informed him regretfully.

"My son was taken? Where? By who?" The Doctor inquired, while Diego did his best to hide a smile when noticing the secret actor standing next to him.

"We don't know." The Sergeant answered. "The Alcalde accompanied the Governor's soldiers to San Diego to find the missing men. Didn't you meet with them on the way?"

"No…No Sergeant. We were busy with Diego's treatment and we left as soon as it was finished. So they are looking for my son in San Diego? I…I should go back there."

"Doctor!" Diego intervened. "We have just been through an exhausting journey. You need some rest. At least take a day or two. I am sure the Alcalde will do all he can to find Manuel and there is nothing you can do to help with their search."

"You are right, Diego!" The doctor conceded. "But he is my son! I need to do what I can to help."

"You will be of no help to anyone if you die of exhaustion." Diego insisted. "Sergeant, are there any new clues as to the whereabouts of the abducted men?"

"Si, Don Diego. We have found a map and the Alcalde was sure he knew the spot indicated on it. Don't worry, Doctor Hernandez. They will find them soon enough!"

"If I have no news by the end of the week, I would be grateful, Sergeant, for one of your men to accompany me back to San Diego. I am sure the Alcalde will understand I can't just sit and do nothing while my son is missing. Frankly, I can't understand how they managed to take him. He has always been such a good fighter..."

"He was? I mean, he is?" Mendoza wondered.

"Of course, Sergeant! Manuel is one of the best swordsmen in Monterey." Diego told the Sergeant as if it was common knowledge. "They must have managed to surprise him…or maybe they had guns."

"That would explain it." Doctor Hernandez said pensively. "I need to go home now, Diego. I am happy you are feeling so much better after the treatments, but you still need to be careful, young man!"

"I will do my best to stay healthy. Don't forget to take some time to rest, Doctor!" Diego suggested as he was taking his luggage from the back of the wagon. "And I appreciate your help. I am only sorry I insisted on returning so rapidly. If we had remained one more day, we would have certainly met with the Alcalde and his men…but you've seen how my father worries about me."

"It is not your fault, Diego!" The doctor assured him just for the Sergeant's benefit, as the entire conversation was, in fact. "Make sure to follow your treatment to the letter. You might still have the occasional relapse, don't forget." He then advised, as he took his goodbye from the caballero and directed the wagon towards his house.

"I will not forget, Doctor. Thank you again for all you've done for me." Diego answered and headed to the tavern, Mendoza following him closely.

He paid for both their lunches and told Mendoza an excruciatingly long tale about the treatment he underwent in San Diego. He had discussed the subject with Doctor Hernandez on the way and thus made sure to offer a lot of unnecessary details and medical terms they had both invented on the way by combining Latin and German words. The Sergeant obviously didn't understand a thing and remembered even less.

Since it was still about an hour until siesta when Mendoza said his goodbyes and returned to the Alcalde's office, Diego made sure to send a messenger to the hacienda, asking for the carriage to be sent so that he might return home. While waiting, he took the chance to talk to Victoria and fiind out more about what had happened after he and the doctor had left the pueblo.

The conversation did not last long, however, since, as soon as he was informed that his son had returned, Don Alejandro, accompanied by Felipe, arrived in the plaza by carriage to take him to the hacienda.

"How did it go, Diego? What did the doctor say?" Don Alejandro asked as soon as they were in the carriage, heading home.

"Well, apparently I am a better shape than Doctor Hernandez had first believed. The treatment only took two days, after which I was given several tea receipes, and was allowed to return home. Of course, while the treatment was successful, there is always the chance for a relapse… in which case the doctor said some rest and the teas should help me recover. He also prescribed some treatments which should help in case I develop a fever and I will have to visit the doctor again in a few weeks, for another consultation." Diego replied convincingly.

"I see. But you are feeling fine, now, right? You do look so much better! Will you be able to lead a normal life? And does this illness you have affect in any way my chance of having grandchildren at some point?" Don Alejandro inquired.

"You already have." Diego pointed out, looking towards Felipe.

"Now, Diego! I do believe I also informed you that adopting Felipe won't get you out of getting married and giving me more grandchildren. I believe I have been… I am… quite patient. All I am asking if whether you will be able…"

"Father, my health issues should not worry you too much. And they certainly won't prevent me from having children… when I'll be good and ready for that."

"Yes, yes, Diego! You made that point clear enough!" Don Alejandro replied somewhat aggravated but also relieved at knowing that his son was able to father children. That one issue had been on his mind at least as much as the idea that Diego could fade away and die from his strange illness. Happily, they were both unfounded fears, Don Alejandro told himself.


	11. Diego's Birthday

Three days later, De Soto, the lancers, six of the Governor's men, and thirteen of the surviving hostages, including Manuel Hernandez, arrived in Los Angeles. While the Governor's men and twelve of the survivors continued their way up north, eager to return to their families, Manuel received a hero's welcome to the pueblo, the account of his incredible bravery having spread a couple of days earlier, together with the news of the rescue.

Victoria made sure the town's newest hero received the celebration due to him by organizing, with some help from the De la Vega men, a party at the tavern.

Music was playing and people were already dancing when the De la Vegas arrived that Sunday evening. Don Alejandro, closely followed by his son and adopted grandson, headed towards Manuel and his father, who were standing amid a small crowd of caballeros set on getting the full account of the entire ordeal.

"Manuel," Don Alejandro said, shaking the young Hernandez's hand "we are so happy to see you returned to us! Such a great thing you did: saved all those men and showed those thugs they really should be careful who they mess with! Not even Zorro could have done a better job, from what I hear!"

The other caballeros approved but Manuel looked at Diego, visibly embarrassed to receive the credit for the other man's actions.

"Indeed, Manuel!" Diego intervened at noticing his expression "I am sure all those who were on that ship owe you a debt of gratitude!"

Manuel understood the meaning of his friend's words and smiled at him but avoided his eyes as soon as he could.

"I appreciate your kind words but I don't really feel I deserve all this." He stated. "I only did what I knew I should do, under the circumstances."

"You are too modest, young man!" Don Alejandro uttered. "You saved those men's lives by risking yours, without hesitation. You are a true hero! I confess I always hoped Diego was more like you, although, with his health issues, right now, I should probably be happy he is not!"

"All I did was my best to survive, Don Alejandro. A true hero is one who risks his own life to save others, so you are clearly mistaken in your appreciation." The young Hernandez stated, upset with Don Alejandro's affirmations, then left the group to exit the tavern through the back door, unable to withstand the attention any longer, nor the guilt he was feeling for receiving the praise Diego deserved.

"I'll go talk to him!" Diego offered and followed him outside. "Are you alright, Manuel?" He asked at reaching his friend who was all by himself, behind the tavern, leaning against one of the walls.

"I don't feel right doing this. We both know it is not me they should be celebrating." Manuel stated.

"Manuel, what you are doing is saving at least one life. That is heroic to me." Diego assured him. "Had anybody suspected the truth, instead of a celebration there would be a funeral, my friend."

"My father says you are all alone. That not even your father knows, which, I guess, is quite obvious by the way he behaves. And all those comments about your cowardice and inadequacy everybody in this pueblo seems keen on throwing around…How can you endure so much contempt from these people and still find the strength to fight for them?"

"They act based on the information they have and I act based on the information I have. I don't resent those comments, Manuel. I encourage them! They are keeping me alive." Diego explained with a kind expression on his face.

Manuel smiled back and sank to the ground.

"Manuel!" Diego exclaimed. "What's wrong?"

"It's alright. My muscles hurt a little right now and I find it hard to stand up. I just need a little rest."

"How long have you been feeling like this?"

"It started…while I was still on the ship. It is not so bad, I assure you." Manuel said, taking deep breaths and trying to massage his forearms.

"Did you tell your father?"

"No… I'd rather not worry him."

"Manuel, what you have is quite possibly the result of the dive. Your father might know how to help you."

"I know I can't keep this from him for too long…just let's enjoy tonight's party. I will tell him in the morning."

"Enjoy the party? You can barely stand and you need him. I will get your father and take both of you home. You need to be resting in a comfortable bed right now." Diego proclaimed and Manuel knew he was both right and unwilling to give him any choice on the matter.

"Diego!" Don Alejandro exclaimed when his son returned to the taproom after helping his friend to his wagon. "Where have you been? Where is Manuel?"

"He isn't feeling very well. I came for Doctor Hernandez." He answered, searching the room for his friend's father.

"What's wrong with him?" Victoria asked, having eavesdropped on the conversation.

"I'd rather let the doctor decide that." Diego answered and quickly made his way through the crowd towards the man he was looking for. "Doctor Hernandez!" He asked in a tone which made the good doctor turn towards him with a sudden feeling that something bad had happened.

"What's wrong, Diego?" He asked.

"It's Manuel. I think you should get him home as soon as possible." Diego answered seriously.

Doctor Hernandez put the glass of wine he was holding on the bar and followed Diego.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" He asked his son who was lying in the back of the wagon, while Diego took the reins and steered the horse towards the doctor's house.

"It is just some muscle pain, Father." Manuel answered. "Nothing to be very concerned with, I assure you."

"He can barely stand up." Diego intervened when he realized Manuel was downplaying his symptoms. "I believe it might be the effect of the dive."

As soon as they arrived at the doctor's house, Diego helped Manuel to his bed and Doctor Hernandez started examining his son. The tall caballero left them alone while he took the time to care for the horse and the wagon, then decided to saddle the doctor's horse and make his way to the cave, from where he returned half an hour later with a flask.

"I believe my cactus tea should be able to help him with the pain." Diego suggested, handing the flask to the doctor.

Manuel drank, at their insistence, half a glass, and dozed off in a matter of minutes.

"How bad is it?" Diego asked the concerned father after the son fell asleep.

"I don't know. I have little experience in treating these symptoms. He should recover but it might be a long recovery. He was lucky he only had to dive that one time, Diego. The other men I saw, the ones who made the dive several times were in a very bad condition. They made them dive too deep, the water was too cold and they took them out too quickly. Not to mention they barely had a few breaths of air in that helmet. Those idiotas had no idea what they were doing." The doctor stated with undisguised anger in his voice.

"There are some books on medicine I've acquired and which might prove useful. Perhaps I can find a way to help him in one of them." He offered.

"Yes…Do look for a way. I will check on the ones I have…" Doctor Hernandez uttered.

"We will find a way to help him recover as soon as possible." Diego encouraged the concerned parent and left, walking the half a mile back to the pueblo.

"Son!" His father exclaimed as he returned, later, to the tavern. "What is going on? Is everything alright with Manuel? What did the doctor say?"

"He is not quite alright, Father. Doctor Hernandez believes it's a side effect of Manuel's dive while on that ship. He remained home to look after him." Diego uttered, and then looked around the almost empty tavern. "I believe this party is over. We should all go home." He added, clearly worried about his friend and looking forward to getting to his books.

The journey home they spent in silence, Diego unable to shake the feeling that he had already been late and his friend might still pay a high price for that. He had hoped the men he had rescued might make a full recovery once they were back on land but now he was wondering if he hadn't, perhaps, been too optimistic.

As soon as they reached the hacienda, he jumped out of the carriage, and, after saying goodnight to his father and Felipe, he went to his room. Locking it from the outside and taking the key with him, he then headed straight for the cave, closing the sliding panel just before the other two men followed him inside the house.

His father, decided to talk to him, knocked on his door, but eventually gave up when he received no answer, thinking his son might have already fallen asleep in the time it took for him and his grandson to leave the carriage in its place and the horses in the stables.

The next morning Diego spent with his friend, who was weaker but in less pain than the previous night, having been confined to bed rest ever since. When the doctor returned after visiting two of his patients, he sent Diego home for lunch and some rest, noticing, by the circles under his eyes, that the young caballero hadn't spent much time sleeping the previous night.

"Were we too late?" Diego asked right before leaving the house.

"For some of them, we were. Four of the ones I saw before they brought me to Manuel were complaining of intense headaches and five more had a hard time breathing. The Alcalde told me this morning that, out of the twenty-one which had been rescued from the ship, one died the next day and seven remained in San Diego because they were deemed too weak to be moved. It is hard to say if all of them will survive." The Doctor answered. "It is not your fault, Diego!" He continued when he saw the guilt reflected in the younger man's eyes. "You cannot take the pain of the world on your shoulders and you are certainly not responsible for the actions of those criminals."

"Thirty-one had disappeared." Diego answered. "That means that we were too late to save at least eleven of them." He added, with his head bowed, his fists clenched.

"You saved all those you could save. You saved Manuel and I will forever be grateful to you for that." The doctor answered.

With a silent goodbye and a forced smile, Diego left the doctor's house and went to the tavern. He needed to see Victoria, maybe convince her to embrace him for just a minute. Not seeing her right away, he sat at a table, staring at the wood with moist eyes, only able to think about the men he was unable to save.

Victoria noticed how distressed he was and, hoping it would make him feel better, just brought him a plate of arroz con pollo and some freshly-squeezed orange juice, and sat down on front of him.

"Thank you, Victoria," he said at noticing she had cooked his favorite dish. "You are most kind."

"And you are most welcome, Diego!" She answered with a big smile. "Happy Birthday, by the way!"

"What?" He replied visibly confused.

"Happy Birthday!" She repeated. "Don't tell me you forgot your own birthday!"

"Is today my birthday?" He asked.

"It is the 19th of February…" She replied.

"Yes… Then I guess it is my birthday. Thank you, Victoria." He answered, still unable to even fake some contentment.

"What is wrong? Is it Manuel? Is his health declining?" Victoria wanted to know, suddenly preoccupied at seeing how sad Diego was.

"No… I mean… I am, indeed, worried about him. I am also preoccupied for the others. I understand eleven died already and some were in a bad condition at the time of the rescue."

"But they will not have to dive again. They should be able to recover now, won't they?"

"I don't know, Victoria. There is not much known about their condition and how the human body reacts to what they've been through. All I could find in my books was some research by a Giovanni Morgagni done some fifty years ago, but it says nothing about possible treatments."

"Diego, I understand Manuel is your friend and you are concerned about him. But you don't even know the others. Why are you so depressed about them?"

Diego wanted to tell her he felt responsible for not having done anything to help those who had perished and for being so late in rescuing the others. However, there was no way to explain why he felt so guilty without telling her his secret, and it was neither the time not the place to do it. "I can't help how I feel, I guess." Was his only answer.

Victoria caressed his hand and stared at him for some moments, without uttering another word, deep in thought.

"Can you help me with something in the kitchen?" She asked as soon as she made up her mind.

Diego looked at Victoria a little surprised by the request but nodded and followed her. As soon as the curtains closed behind them, she turned around and hugged him, one hand gently caressing his back and one on his head, lowering it towards her neck. He tensed a little at her unexpected move but relaxed and put his arms around her waist to hold her close.

They parted about a minute later, at hearing Mendoza's voice, intuitively knowing he was heading towards the kitchen.

"Don Diego! Señorita Victoria!" Mendoza exclaimed at seeing his friends' reaction at his entry, which reminded him of that of two lovers being caught kissing.

"Sergeant!" Diego replied with a false smile, at turning to face him. "How good of you to join me. I hope you will allow me to treat you to lunch!"

"Si, Don Diego! Gracias!" Mendoza answered with enthusiasm, suddenly forgetting all the questions he had wanted to ask them a few moments earlier.

"Chicken Mole?" Victoria suggested, rather than asked the Sergeant, surprised by Diego's sudden change of attitude and just a little embarrassed to realize she had some well-hidden feelings towards him, which had made her wish that their embrace had lasted much longer than it did.

Mendoza approved and, at a sign from Diego, returned to the taproom.

"Thank you." Diego said, half-turning towards Victoria, just before he followed the Sergeant "I think I really needed that."

Victoria smiled shyly, unable to understand why she was suddenly blushing, and hurried to fix Mendoza's meal.

Just before the siesta, Diego exited the tavern intending to go home and have some rest, but his eyes fell on some flowers being sold in the plaza. It took him a few minutes to realize why he was staring at them but, as he did, he bought two bouquets and headed towards the cemetery. Leaving one of the bouquets on his mother's grave and the other on his brother's, he found himself adding to his feeling of guilt the regret for never having shared even one birthday with the man with which he had shared their mother's womb.

His mood only deteriorated later that evening when he was forced to attend his surprise birthday party and had to fake being happy with the attention he received. The fact that all the conversations of the soirée focused on Manuel and the abducted men did not help him in any way. What he really wanted to do was ride as Zorro and save someone's life. It would have, at least, made him feel better.

After the party ended, he, thus, patrolled the countryside for a while but found no bandits nor victims to rescue, so he eventually made his way to the tavern. Since Victoria had attended his party and still needed to do some preparations for the following day, she was still awake, working in the taproom. Zorro entered the kitchen and watched her arrange some benches, then waited in a corner when he saw her coming his way.

"Do you need any help?" He asked her as she entered, startling her a little.

"Zorro!" She exclaimed and, as it was her custom, threw herself in his arms for a long, passionate kiss. "No, I don't need help." She replied as their lips parted. "I have just finished here…Would you like to come to my room? I have no guests tonight."

"That would not be wise, Victoria." He answered.

"Why not? I just want you to stay with me for a little while. There's nothing wrong with that, is it? I mean… we are going to be married someday."

He smiled and followed her upstairs, knowing that only holding her in his arms would make him feel better.

"When is your birthday?" She suddenly asked him after another kiss, as they were sitting on her bed, each on a different side.

"Knowing my birthday would certainly be a big giveaway, Victoria." He replied, a genuine smile on his lips.

"Today was Diego's." She answered pensively. "It made me think… I have never gotten you a birthday gift since I don't know when I should give it to you."

"What gift would you give me?" He asked.

"I don't know… I only realized just now that I have never given you anything. I should make up for that, don't you think? I mean… You have been giving me birthday gifts for the past 8 years…"

"I do have the advantage of knowing the date of your birthday."

"Yes, you do. But, if you don't want to tell me when it's yours, I'll just have to decide on a date."

"That might be a good compromise. So, Señorita, tell me, when is my birthday?"

"How about today?"

"Today?"

"It will be easy for me to remember. I am sure Diego won't mind sharing his with you."

"Well… in that case… what is my birthday present?"

"This!" She said, kissing him and pulling him down on the bed, on top of her.

ZZZ

Diego woke up early the next morning in Victoria's bed, half-naked and with nothing covering the upper part of his face. He vaguely remembered fulfilling her request of removing the mask during the night, when the darkness made it impossible for her to see his face, but now that there was already some light outside it would have been impossible for her not to see exactly who he was. Raising his head and moving a little his upper body to look around for the black silk, he felt her gently moving in his arms, waking up.

It took Victoria a few moments to realize why her head was resting on a man's naked chest when his movements pulled her from her dreams, back to reality. She took a deep breath and tried to raise her head to look at him, her heartbeat quickened by the prospect of finally knowing who her masked man was, but she felt him burying his face in her hair and asking her to close her eyes until his mask was back on. She protested a little, but his whispered plea to allow him to choose the time when he would reveal his identity eventually persuaded her, and Victoria did as he asked while he got out of bed and recovered the mask from the floor, tying it back on.

"Are you ever going to tell me?" She asked with disappointment in her voice when she was finally allowed to open her eyes again. "After all that happened between us, do you still doubt my love? Do you still doubt I can love the man and not only the legend?"

"I don't doubt you, Victoria." Zorro replied with a smile as he leaned down to kiss her cheek and kneeled next to her bed. "If I had any doubt, you erased it weeks ago. I know you love me as much as I love you, but it is for that very reason that I cannot yet reveal to you who I truly am. When I do, you will understand."

"But…what if I get pregnant? What should we do then?" She asked with the naiveté of a woman who did not grow up having a certain, much needed, discussion with her mother or a best friend.

"That would be quite impossible, Victoria… since we didn't make love." He reassured her with a big smile, amused by her innocence.

"Then… what did we do?" She asked, unconvinced.

"Well… we kissed, we touched, and you allowed me to take liberties with you that I shouldn't have, but I know quite well where to draw the line, and I cannot take the chance of ruining our future for one night of passion."

"I wouldn't have minded if we… I want nothing more than to spend every night in your arms, you must know that! As things are, you just come to me like… like a thief set on stealing some kisses and some caresses, when YOU want to be with me, and then you just leave and I never know when I'll see you again. What about what I want? Don't you think I also need the man I love to hold me, kiss me, or just talk to me, sometimes?" She replied, sensing her anger rising and making herself look even more beautiful in his eyes.

Zorro smiled and had to admit she was right. "Let's make a deal, then." He suggested. "Whenever you want to see me, for whatever reason, wear your red sash, and I will do my best to come to you. I cannot promise I will always be able to make it, but I will try to be there. And in my absence, should you need someone to be there for you, I am sure Don Diego will be able to help you whenever and however he can."

"Diego?" She sighed. "If he knew I spent my night with you I don't think he would even want to talk to me anymore. He has always acted like a protective big brother, and he is so proper and so well-mannered. He would probably be horrified if he knew I offered myself to you like I did. I am sure he would be very disappointed in me."

"Maybe you rush to conclusions. No man is a saint, Victoria, and I hardly believe he would ever judge you if you decided to tell him." He assured her with a sly smile on his face, wondering if it wouldn't really be simpler to just take off the mask and end the secrecy, just as she wanted. That, however, was, in his mind, the equivalent of drowning in shallow waters, considering he was fully aware that Spain was not to be in control of California for much longer. So Zorro decided he was a better swimmer than that. "More important, as I said, your honor is still intact, mi preciosa, and I, for one, don't intend to take it before our wedding night." He concluded, giving her a final kiss before making his way out the window and back to the hacienda, unaware that she took his words as a challenge rather than as a promise.

ZZZ

Manuel's pains started decreasing some four days after he arrived in Los Angeles and he was finally able to move around more, although he was feeling the fatigue rather fast, and the pain seemed to increase at that point. 

Diego spent much of his time with him, reading and chatting like the old friends they were, but avoiding to share his adventures as Zorro, despite Manuel's insistence. As for his nights, they were divided between visiting his increasingly needy beloved and chasing after bandits.

He soon regretted his decision to establish a signal for when Victoria wanted to see him. because she had no second thoughts about abusing it, and made it her purpose to wear the red sash every day. So, each night he would visit and find it harder and harder to resist her as she seemed set on finding out exactly what making love was.

One evening, however, despite his precautions, he was spotted heading for the tavern. While engaging the lancers, trying to confuse them enough to make his way to Victoria's room, he did not pay enough attention to one of the new recruits, and it was only by miracle that he survived the night.

When Victoria saw, a little later, the big hole left by the lancer's bullet in Zorro's hat, inches above his head, she promised herself never to abuse the sash again. So their relation soon returned to normal, with him visiting her whenever he felt it was safe, and she decided to be content with however much time he could offer her before the day would come for him to take off the mask for good.

A few days after Diego's birthday, the rest of the Governor's lancers and their Commander arrived in Los Angeles accompanying the last four of the rescued men, the others having perished in San Diego, never to make it home. Since they spent the night in the pueblo, the Commander asked for the doctor to attend to still-ailing 'volunteer divers' and it was only by pure luck that Doctor Hernandez was away to help a woman give birth and only returned to the pueblo the next morning, when they were all gone. In his absence, it was Diego who offered to see to them and, after silently thanking God that none of the men were amongst those he had met on the ship, he did his best to alleviate their pain, using a mixture of Doctor Hernandez's concoctions and some of the Indian remedies he was familiar with.

He also took the opportunity to find out that the ten crewmembers and the Presidio's Commander responsible for the abductions and the death of the other men had meanwhile been sentenced to death.


	12. The Escape

After Diego left with Doctor Hernandez, the Presidio's Commander was detained, and the gold confiscated, El Sabueso decided to give up her job at the tavern and her disguise as Maria.

Finding two apartments to rent in town – one for her and one for Armando – she made sure to closely follow the trial, which had started the same day the Commander had been arrested, in order to give all the victims the chance to make their statements before returning home.

The case was, in her opinion, strange, to say the least, as she found herself pondering the details which somehow didn't make any sense in her mind.

Firstly, the Commander Timador was a decorated officer, who had previously risked his life in battle to save his men. He was, thus, highly regarded in Madrid and, implicitly, in Monterey, and his profile did not fit in any way with that of a murderous gang leader.

Secondly, while spending most of their time on a ship, only two of those captured were real sailors – pirates, to be more precise, both of them with high prices on their heads and already sentenced to death for previous crimes. The rest of the men were in a most curious situation: they were all active lancers of the Presidio de San Diego, arrived there with the Commander, some two months before.

Furthermore, The Hound soon realized that there seemed to be something else out of the ordinary about the case, something everyone seemed to be missing: only two barrels of gold had been discovered but three shipments had been made since she had arrived in San Diego.

Having notified the Governor's troops on the issue, she found it hard to believe that such fact was completely ignored during the trial, the judge believing Commander Timador's claims that there was no other gold except for what had been discovered in his office. Combined with the fact that none of the other men captured tried to use the knowledge of the missing gold's whereabouts in an effort to save his own skin, that simple fact began nagging her more and more.

Fully aware that in small pueblos, such as San Diego, the best-informed person was the owner of the local taverns, every day, after the trial, she made a habit of spending the afternoon and evening in the two establishments, accompanied by a disguised Don Armando. While having their meals and drinks in silence, both kept their eyes and ears open to any piece of gossip relevant to the case.

That was how, the day the trial had ended with an already-expected death sentence for all those involved in the abductions, she noticed a corporal inquiring about a doctor which might have stayed at the inn during the time the plot had been uncovered. She involuntarily bit her lips and barely avoided strangling the innkeeper when he offered the lancer more information than he needed to share, enthusiastically recounting in full detail how Doctor Hernandez had been there, unaware that his own son, he himself one of the victims, had just rescued the people on the ship. He also made sure to describe both the doctor and Diego, the man accompanying him, mentioning that they had both returned safe and sound the evening of the rescue.

Following the corporal together with Armando, they soon noticed him leaving the town and making his way south of the pueblo.

With the rest of the Governor's men already on their way north, the San Diego was now guarded by 20 lancers, the only ones which had remained after the arrest of their comrades. As the execution was scheduled for the following day at dawn, El Sabueso decided to follow her instincts and asked Armando to warn the new acting commander of the Presidio, a Lieutenant Sanchez, about a possible escape of the condemned men, feeling in her gut that that was the only explanation for both their refusal to defend themselves during the trial and for the corporal's strangely-timed inquiry.

Whether he took her warning seriously or not, she never truly found out as, a little after midnight, the entire town was awakened by heavy gunfire and sword fighting up on Presidio Hill. When the ordeal was over and silence fell back on the pueblo, the acting commander and ten of his men were dead, together with four of the prisoners. Three other lancers were badly wounded and four more had suffered minor injuries. The former Commander and the rest of his men, together with two of the lancers were gone.

Although knowing where they might be – since she had found both of their hideouts outside the pueblo - detaining the escaped men was impossible in the absence of able-bodied soldiers to take them back into custody or to swiftly execute them. In fact, at that point, with just four lancers, vaguely able to provide some security to the pueblo, San Diego was, for all intents and purposes, a no-man's land. Hurrying to organize, some of the dons managed to arm their vaqueros and assure the security of their haciendas, but the pueblo itself remained defenseless for over a week, until reinforcements were eventually sent.

Fortunately for the residents, Timador and his compadres had no interest in attacking the pueblo. In fact, their interests were limited and very specific: finding the missing gold and the old ship's log, finding those who sabotaged them, and get their vengeance on the culprits.

Unfortunately, they also had several clues as to where they should start, since they were not the kind of men to believe in coincidences, and had made sure to memorize all relevant information regarding the rescue. They, thus, soon decided they needed to go to Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, The Hound had no intention of staying on the sidelines. Together with Don Armando, the very night of the escape, she made her way towards the first safe-house used by the felons, then towards the second when the first proved uninhabited. Leaving Armando and the horses several hundred feet away, where they couldn't be spotted and taking advantage of the darkness, EL Sabueso headed towards the house and hid herself near a window. After listening in to the conversation of the bandits for over an hour, sure she had heard enough and had a rather clear idea as to their plans, she returned to the horses, deciding on her further actions.


	13. The Fox and The Hound

The stagecoach from San Diego had departed for Los Angeles the same day the verdict in the case of Timador and his men had been announced. It had left at midday with three passengers who decided to remain in San Juan Capistrano, from where four others replaced them. When it stopped in front of the pueblo's tavern, Victoria was on the terrace, smiling at the newly arrived.

There was an old, tall gentleman with white hair, beard, and mustache, as well as three women. Two of them, the first to step out, were nuns: a rather tall and chubby one, who, judging by her unwillingness to talk, had either taken a vow of silence or was a mute, and a slender, short one, no longer young but still rather pleasant-looking. The third woman, however, seemed very strange to Victoria. Although it was past noon and very hot outside, she was fully covered in a long, black, strange-looking veil, wrapped over her entire body. Her face was indistinguishable, since just her eyes had been left visible. While curious about her, Victoria lost sight of the odd woman when her presence was requested inside the tavern by the other passengers who were asking for accommodation.

As for the strange newly-arrived, she ignored Victoria and anyone else around, not even bothering to say goodbye to her fellow travelers. Carrying only a large bag dangling around her shoulders, she made her way towards the stables with a certainty that indicated her familiarity with the place.

Making sure she was not being followed, she rapidly saddled Victoria's mare and headed north. About one and a half miles from the pueblo, after having made sure there was nobody around to see her, she jumped down from the horse and took off her strange attire, which left her dressed in dark-brown pants and a light-brown manly shirt, perfectly masking her small bosom. Her hair was black and short and a fake mustache and beard masked her feminine features. She took the veil and put it in the bag, from which she took out a jacket fitting the trousers. With one more look around, she slapped the horse's rear, sending it back home, than continued on her way.

Walking another half a mile, she stopped in front of the De la Vega Hacienda, as if wondering if to enter or just leave. Carefully studying the ground around, she made her way to the back of the house following what looked like trails: ones left by a tall man – or at least, the boot prints indicating it was a tall man – heading towards some hills at the back of the hacienda. There she lost the tracks among the large boulders. Unwilling to get discouraged, she studied the area, the stones, and the hills, until she found something half-buried into the sand, something that did not belong there. It looked like a long piece of wood, and, realizing it was positioned in such a way as to be pressed, she discovered it moved a rock-wall, giving access to a hidden cave.

"Reading anything interesting, Don Diego?" She asked the man who was sat in his chair with a large book opened on the desk in front of him.

He startled when he noticed the intruder casually leaning against one of the cave's walls with his arms crossed across his chest. There was no alarm indicating that someone was at the cave's entrance but the strange man making his way into his secret lair made all his internal alarms go off at once.

Springing into action at what he perceived as a sudden threat, it took him but a few seconds to grab his sword, set on challenging the strange man.

"No need for violence! As you should know by now, your secret is safe with me."

Diego stopped his advance, lowered the sword, and watched as the intruder took off his false beard and mustache, then the black wig to reveal The Hound.

"How did you get here?" He asked her with unmasked curiosity, slowly approaching her.

"Is that your question, Don Diego? How did I get here?" She wondered with some amusement in her voice. "Well, if you must know, I happened to follow your tracks from the hacienda. It's not that hard if you know what you are looking for, and I, Señor Zorro, know exactly what I am looking for!"

"If 'How' is not the right questions, Señorita Paula, - or is it Maria?" Diego replied with admiration in his voice "perhaps 'Why' would be a better one?"

"It certainly is." She admitted with a smile "But my name is neither Paula nor Maria. It's Antonia. Antonia Isabela Chamorro de Silva. I guess it was high time you knew my real name."

"A pleasure to finally properly meet you... Señorita?"

"Señora… or Doña, if you prefer. Although, my husband is no longer amongst us."

"I am sorry to hear that." Diego replied.

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't share it. He was an arrogant, violent man my father made me marry. My first case, actually. After he hanged, I was, at last, free to live my life on my terms and pursue my own interests."

"You had your husband sentenced to death?" Diego asked, unable to hide some indignation he involuntarily felt.

"He was in the business of abducting, raping and, occasionally, killing young women. I saw no other course of action." She explained coldly, and his outrage suddenly changed back to admiration for the unique women in front of him. "But I do owe him one thing: I would have never met Armando if it had not been for my 'dear Gael'. However, my past is not the reason for my presence here and, frankly, right now I don't have the time to share it, anyway."

"And what is the reason for you being here, may I ask?"

"A case. The same one that reunited us in San Diego."

"But I understand that all those responsible were already executed. Have there been new abductions I haven't heard of?"

"No. There hasn't been any new abduction and the perpetrators were sentenced to death. Unfortunately, there were two more accomplices, and they managed to rescue seven of them before the sentence was carried out."

"They escaped? That is certainly not good news. The Governor's men left here just yesterday and I was under the impression that everything was over from their point of view. So you are involved in the search? Helping the troops from San Diego?"

"No…I am not, since there is no search as of yet. Nor are there any more troops in San Diego. And, while I don't know their current location, I know where they will be tonight or tomorrow morning, so I wouldn't have to search too much, anyway."

"I am not sure I understand… Why are you here, exactly?"

"That is a rather complex answer…" She stated. "Alright… let me start with the beginning. When they escaped, they killed or injured all the lancers, thus leaving the Presidio with basically no men to defend San Diego, pursue them, or to warn other garrisons. I doubt anyone even knows yet. If they would have decided to attack that night, the pueblo would have been defenseless against them. Fortunately, an attack on the pueblo was not in their plans."

"How can you know that?"

"I know because, after their escape, I decided to follow them to their hideout and…let's say that, what I overheard, clarified a few things for me and raised several concerns. Firstly, that was not Commander Timador they arrested, nor were his men lancers, as believed. The real Commander and his men had been killed two months ago while on their way to San Diego. Since they had been dispatched from Spain, nobody knew them here, in California, so no one realized that a switch had been made. As for the men who replaced them…well…that is the most important point of concern. Have you ever heard about the Brothers Ramirez?"

"I have. Merciless cutthroats with a reputation for having killed tens of people over the last five years. They were specialized in abductions for ransom. But they are dead."

"They should be…Which is why nobody has been searching for them or their men. Considering it was Commander Timador who requested the prize money for their capture, my guess is that the bodies identified as belonging to them, might really belong to the true Commander and his lancers. They actually used the reward money for their own capture to get the ship and the diving equipment. Try as I may, I cannot help but admire their ingenuity."

"Indeed…"

"As I was saying, I managed to hear part of their conversation and their plan. Since the Governor's troops had confiscated the recovered gold and they no longer had a way to reclaim it, they were decided to dig up the gold they still had hidden and, afterward, come here to find out what Manuel and Doctor Hernandez know about the missing barrel and some ship-log indicating the position of the sunken vessel. They don't know about you from what I could tell - at least, not for certain - but I am sure that might easily change should they see you in town. They are also set on vengeance and your friends, myself, and Armando, as well as the magistrate who had passed on the sentence, are all targeted."

"So this is why you are here: to warn us?"

"As I said, it is a more complex answer. After hearing their conversation, I managed to convince the magistrate and his wife to accompany me and Armando to Los Angeles, in disguise. The four of us left on horseback that very night, to catch the stagecoach which had left earlier that day.

"We will all be staying in the pueblo and I don't believe we have more than half a day advance on the Ramirez gang, meaning they should be here by tonight or tomorrow morning, at the latest.

"Don Diego… I'll be perfectly honest with you. As I had already mentioned, these men have basically incapacitated the entire garrison in San Diego. After the fight, only four men were still standing and eleven were dead. The Ramirez brothers are renowned for their fighting skills and they have six more men helping them. While not as good as the three brothers, their men might still pose some problems.

"Now… Of course, I'd like to make sure Doctor Hernandez and his son are fine, just as I want for Armando, myself, the magistrate, and his wife to remain alive. But I also want to avoid a repeat of what happened in San Diego. Considering that the lancers there were much better trained than the ones here, De Soto's men would be slaughtered in a confrontation.

"Which is why I came to you rather than the Alcalde. Because, if anyone can stop those men with a minimum of casualties, that's Zorro."

Diego was pacing while listening to her story, pondering on the ramifications of the Ramirez gang arriving in Los Angeles.

He knew that saving the people in danger was, probably, the easy part. The difficult part was making sure nobody, particularly not De Soto, suspected that Doctor Hernandez had been anywhere near the ship for, if they did, the questions raised would only lead to one conclusion, a conclusion he didn't want the Alcalde to even entertain.

"Any idea on how to approach this?" He eventually asked the detective.

"Not really, if you are still opposed to killing." She replied.

"I am! Perhaps the first thing I need to do is to get Manuel and the doctor out of town." Diego decided. "That way I can focus on protecting you four. The problem remains De Soto. I might be able to fight nine men, but not with the entire garrison trying its best to take me out at the same time. I think I will need to convince him that a truce might be in his favor."

"We both know De Soto cannot be trusted. He would just end up killing his men if you bring all this up to him. Not to mention shoot you in the back the first chance he gets."

He could hardly hide a smile at her statement, remembering that, while stuck in that loop, De Soto had done exactly that: shot him in the back as soon as the chance had presented itself. However, Diego had also started noticing some changes recently, not only in De Soto, but also in his own father and in Victoria. He was, thus, certain that while they could not remember what had happened during all the time that strange day insisted on repeating itself, at some unconscious level, they felt differently and acted as such. Thus, if he was correct, the Alcalde was no longer as inclined to kill him as he had been a few weeks earlier.

"Ignacio might be an ambitious coward, but he will not stand by and let cold-blooded criminals kill a magistrate in his pueblo." He uttered. "The price money for their capture should also be a good enough incentive even for him, not to mention that his men might actually come in handy if they are not focused on shooting me."

"You can't be that naïve, Don Diego. All he wants is to see you dead!"

"I wouldn't be sure of that. He has changed in recent months. Not radically, but enough to make me consider he might be inclined to keep his word and, perhaps, lend a hand."

"Even if, by some miracle, he does decide to keep his word, putting those men in De Soto's jail, might end up in you, the doctor, and, quite probably, Manuel, joining them, since I doubt they will hold their tongues." She underlined. "Look…They are cold-blooded criminals, sentenced to death and your scruples might be your downfall in this situation. They will die anyway, so even you must realize that killing them is the best option."

"Killing them is a last resort. I'd rather avoid it if at all possible, considering I am no executioner." Diego replied with some indignation, failing to see why it was so easy for her to suggest murder as a solution to his problems.

"Fine. As you wish. I will keep an eye on De Soto to make sure he doesn't shoot you as he is bound to try." She assured him.

"I would be most grateful." He smiled at her, finding himself content to be able to discuss battle plans with someone else than Felipe, for once.

At that very moment, his son decided to come to the cave and stopped on the stairs, staring at Antonia with wide-opened caramel eyes.

"Oh…Felipe!" Diego called on him. "You do remember Señorita Paula, don't you? Well…Señora Antonia, in fact. We were discussing strategy. I'll explain everything later, don't worry."

Felipe started gesturing in panic, questioning her presence there.

"I didn't bring her here, Felipe." Diego replied with some amusement. "Tracking seems to be among her many talents since she managed to follow the imprints of my boots to the cave."

"Don't worry, young man!" She tried to reassure him. "All your secrets are safe with me...Oh, Don Diego," she added, suddenly remembering she had also come with a request "I was wondering if I might borrow one of your horses. In exchange, I offer the use of my room at the tavern. You will need to be in town if you are to keep us safe. I will place a red ribbon on the window so that you know which one is mine."

"Well…That might be useful. I just need to find a good excuse to make everyone believe I have left town for a few days...but I am rather preoccupied that Victoria may recognize you if you stay at the tavern." Diego decided to point out, worried that Victoria might realize who her former employee truly was and, by doing that, eventually find out his secret.

"She hasn't seen me in months. She sees you every day and she doesn't recognize you under that mask, what makes you think she might recognize me?"

Diego had to admit that her argument was quite compelling. He had himself often wondered why had Victoria never connected the dots leading her to realize her masked man's true identity. After that loop he had been stuck in, he knew quite well Victoria loved him, her friend, as much as she loved his mysterious alter-ego, but he also knew that she was not as good an actress as him when it came to disguising her emotions, which meant that her finding out the truth would only get them both on the scaffold. Returning his thoughts to his current predicament, Diego remembered that he needed to hurry to get the doctor and Manuel out of town, and do it in such a way not to attract attention regarding the reasons for them leaving. On the other hand, Manuel was not in top shape and he also needed to make sure they were protected, which meant that a real trip out-of-town at that moment was not remotely indicated. Since both Hernandez knew his secret, he eventually decided to bring them to the cave and leave them there, under Felipe's supervision.

"I suggest you put back your disguise and I will take you out through the hacienda." Diego told Antonia as soon as he had made up his mind. "You can place your belongings here!" He added, handing her a pair of brown-leather saddlebags.

Antonia did as he asked and, in but a few minutes, the slender black-haired man reappeared and was standing before him. Diego checked that there was no one in the library and took her out through the sliding panel in the fireplace, but he almost tripped over his father, who was coming around the corner from the main entrance of the house.

"Why in such a hurry, Son?" Don Alejandro inquired as they almost bumped into each other, just before looking behind his son and noticing the strange man.

"I was...I was just taking Don Antonio to the stables to lend him a horse for the few days he will be in Los Angeles. You don't mind, do you, Father?"

"I trust your judgment, Diego. But I did not know you were expecting a friend! It is a pleasure, Señor. I am Don Alejandro de la Vega!"

"Don Antonio Montez." Antonia introduced herself in a low, masculine tone. "It is a pleasure, Don Alejandro. I must say, considering how Don Diego talks about his father, I have been looking forward to meeting you."

"In that case, Señor, I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage. My son doesn't often mention his friends."

"I hardly believe he would have mentioned me, considering we only met twice before, in Buenaventura. But I will not impose on you any longer, since I am rather tired after my trip and still have to arrange my accommodation in town. I very much appreciate your kindness in entrusting me with one of your famous Andalusians and I promise to take good care of your horse, Señor."

"Well, of course, I am sure you will. I won't detain you any longer. Would you, perhaps, care to join me and Diego for dinner, later? The food at the tavern is the best around."

"Don Diego did tell me something similar, indeed." She hesitated, not sure if to accept and looking at Diego for an intervention.

"Ah… Actually, Father," Diego cut in, realizing this was his chance to escape parental supervision, "Don Antonio just brought me news about a few items I ordered for my experiments and I will be leaving for Buenaventura to retrieve them as soon as I pack my things. I will be back in one or two days."

"You are leaving again? And just as Don Antonio arrived? Diego, I know you are a better host than that!"

"I don't mind, Don Alejandro." Antonia intervened. "I am in town on business and will not have any time to meet with your son, anyway. In fact, I am also waiting for the results of Don Diego's experiments, so he would also do me a favor by hurrying to get those items he ordered."

"Well...I had no idea there were other people interested in Diego's experiments…As you wish, Don Antonio. I guess it will be only us for dinner, in that case. Should we say 7pm?"

Antonia looked again at Diego but he nodded, rather sure his father would find it difficult to accept a refusal.

"It will be my honor, Señor!" She replied

"Now, if you'll excuse us, Father, Antonio and I should be on our way."

"Just a moment, Diego! If you'll allow me a minute with my son, Don Antonio!" Don Alejandro commanded, pulling Diego away from his friend. "Are you sure you are in a condition to take such a trip? I know Doctor Hernandez declared you healthy, but he also warned us that your problems might return when you least expect it. I would rather you took Felipe or one of my vaqueros with you, just in case."

"Father, you can hardly expect me to have someone supervising my every move. I am healthy now and I don't think anything might happen to change that, in just a couple of days. I will be fine by myself, so stop worrying so much!" Diego uttered with a kind smile.

"Well…You are a grown-up and you know what you're doing." Don Alejandro concluded trying to reassure himself. "But you are also my only son, so promise me that, if anything happens, you will not strain yourself and just seek help."

"I will, Father." Diego stated and Don Alejandro approved, feeling a nod in his stomach as he turned towards their guest. "See you later, Don Antonio!" He greeted and made his way towards his quarters, wondering why Diego's acquaintance, on which he had never laid eyes before, seemed so familiar to him. He ended up deciding he must have accidentally seen the man in some of the cattle auctions and eventually dismissed any other reason he could consider for the said familiarity.

"So, that is what you do when you need to keep the mask for longer periods of time? Invent trips?" Antonia asked Diego as soon as they were out of the house.

"Over the years, I realized that it is easier to be Zorro when there is no need for Diego to be around." He answered, as they headed for the stables where Diego chose a horse, asking one of their men to saddle it. "This is Argento." He introduced the silver-coated steed. "He is gentle but he is also one of our fastest stallions. Make sure you treat him well!"

Antonia nodded and jumped on the horse with the mastery of a trained jokey. Taking her goodbyes, she headed for Los Angeles, where Don Armando had already made sure she got the last available room. Leaving her saddlebags upstairs, she returned to the taproom where she ordered a pitcher of lemonade and a plate of beef enchiladas to be brought to a corner table, where she remained, watching the door and eavesdropping on the other patrons' conversations, until Victoria closed for siesta.

As soon as she left, Diego prepared his saddlebags with the things to take on his imaginary trip to Buenaventura – enough to convince his father that he was leaving –, then mounted Esperanza and made his way to Doctor Hernandez's house, where he proceeded in asking Manuel and his father to pretend they were leaving town for a few days.

The two men made sure to inform Sergeant Mendoza they were heading to Santa Paula, to seek the advice of a doctor who might know more about treating Manuel's condition, and eventually met with Diego down the road, in the vicinity of the hacienda. Making sure to hide their wagon, the caballero took them to the cave and left them there, in Felipe's care, after explaining the circumstances they were finding themselves in. An hour later, having taken the Doctor's horse and Esperanza to a near-by stable his father and his men were not in the habit of using, dressed as Zorro and, mounted on Tornado, he made his way towards Los Angeles.


	14. Reasons to worry

"Are you sure about this? There is a reason we have been avoiding Los Angeles for all these years!" Miguel asked his brother.

"Don't talk to me about that, hermanito! It was I who made the decision to avoid that maldito pueblo in the first place." Jesús answered.

"You can't even be sure he is in Los Angeles or that he can tell us anything about the missing gold. For all we know, he might already be in Monterey right now!" Miguel challenged his brother's decision. "I, for one, still can't understand what happened. It was all going perfectly! How was one man able to take down all of you? When I saw him at the trial he was barely able to stand for half an hour and he somehow managed to imprison you and free all those men. I am sometimes wondering if you didn't do that to yourselves. Steal that ledger and the gold to get rid of us and chose that idiot as a willing accomplice," he added, directing his fury towards their men, who were sat on the grass, trying to get warm by the fire, and hoping the three brothers will not decide to cut their throats during the night for having failed them.

"No! No fuimos nosotros!" One of their men, Pedro, tried to assure them. They feared the brothers, Miguel most of all, for he was short-tempered, merciless, and deadly with the knife. "We don't know what happened. We were eating when that man just jumped on the table, disarmed us, and knocked us out before we were able to do anything. He came out of nowhere. I don't even know how that doctor managed to let him out because the keys were on me! And how did he know to let him out and not another?"

"Because he was his father!" Angel shouted at their men. "How many times do I need to tell you that? How can I convince you that there are several things here which make little or no sense?" Angel continued, directing himself to Miguel and Jesús. "Think about it! That doctor just happened to release the one man who managed to subdue you all, and then vanished after the man he was with had already vanished a few hours earlier?"

"That one was killed by a shark during his dive!" A voice from the other side of the camp shouted.

"Was he?" Angel asked doubtfully. "Consider it for a moment! The escape happened a few hours after you brought those men to the ship. Coincidentally, the father of the man who rescued the others, who is a doctor, was also in town at the same time with a man fitting the description of your shark-attack victim. Not to mention, they were both absent from the tavern during the night it all went down, only to casually return the following evening and leave early in the morning, before even finding out his son was also there. Does that really sound like a coincidence to you?" Angel was also raising his tone to their men, upset at realizing how easily duped they were.

"But, Angel," Jesús uttered, "the men told us they took the two to the ship themselves and that one had died before the prisoners' release. We have had two other men become shark food before."

"Si! He is definitely shark food! I saw the blood! He couldn't have survived to return to the pueblo the next day." Pedro agreed.

"I am not so sure about that…" Alvaro, one of the youngest members of the gang ventured his opinion.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jesús asked.

"It is just that… with the other two we lost to sharks, there was some struggle, the rope went sideways… it was like when you go fishing: the fish don't stay put… And there was more blood… And… And they never left any clothes behind, they just vanished." Alvaro decided to offer his opinion, having witnessed both previous attacks.

"That's true." Pedro agreed. "But still, if he wasn't dead, we would have seen him coming up for air."

"What did that tavern owner say again, Angel? How did he describe them?" Jesús asked.

"He said one was the doctor, the father of the man we had taken from the stagecoach. He's an older gentleman, in his early 60s, with white hair, no mustache or beard, and always wearing a tailcoat. The other was a caballero in his early 30s, tall, dark hair and mustache, dressed in a blue suit. I forgot the name he gave me, but he said he was a rich heir." Angel replied, taking in a deep breath in frustration over his brothers' failure to realize he was right, and trying to remember as best he could the conversation he had had with the tavern owner a couple of evenings earlier.

"Pedro, how did the tracker and the doctor look like?" Jesús asked his man.

"Well… the same… except the younger man was dressed as a vaquero and said he was a tracker… although, he did seem rather too well-groomed for a tracker." Pedro answered.

"And you said that both those men returned to the tavern the night before my arrest, and left in the morning?" Jesús asked his brother again after giving Pedro a spiteful look.

"Si… The owner had only seen the doctor the morning of the rescue, but his helper saw them in the evening when they arrived to take them to their rooms." Angel replied.

"Maldita sea!" Jesús swore. "If Angel is right we have all been played for fools by those two!"

"But… but… we abducted the young man some 15 miles north of Los Angeles. The doctor came with that tracker looking for his son, just a few hours after they had been taken to the ship. They couldn't have found him so quickly. And… And we only took the doctor because we thought it was a good opportunity to find a way to use the men a little longer, get them to do a few more dives before they died. Miguel already said we were attracting too much attention on us keeping on with the abductions." Pedro, another one of their men, replied scratching his head and trying his best to excuse their actions.

"Well… we'll know for sure once we get there and meet this don and the two Hernandez. Even if it's not the same doctor, I will still enjoy blowing his brains out just to see the look on his son's face. Nobody messes with the Ramirez Brothers and lives to talk about it." Jesús stated, gently caressing his gun as if it was a lover.

"Someone had been to the house in our absence and, whoever it was, he or they had the gold with them!" Miguel stated, focused on his own concerns about the gold, while taking a knife and, pointing it at a nearby tree, threw it impaling with it an unlucky small lizard which had the bad inspiration of choosing that moment to go searching for food.

Right then, a rider approached the group, which had taken shelter just outside an abandoned mine, some 20 miles from Los Angeles. The man dismounted and came straight to the leader of the gang to report on the information he had obtained.

"Have you found them, José?" Jesús asked him as the newly arrived was walking towards him, making his way through some big boulders.

"No. There were three people hosted there but it was not them. However, I did find out something interesting." The man answered with a smug.

"What?" Angel and Jesús asked at the same time.

"The three had arrived by stagecoach last evening but suddenly decided to remain at the Mission a little longer instead of continuing their voyage. Meanwhile, four other people came on horseback to the Mission and left by stagecoach in the morning, gifting the horses to the monks." José replied.

"Four? I thought we were looking for two." Miguel intervened.

"How do you know that?" Angel inquired. "The magistrate and his wife are, indeed, just two. However, since that pain-in-the-arse of a detective was also crawling in San Diego, it stands to reason he might be with them."

"And I always suspected he might have an accomplice." Jesús added to his brother's train of thought "After he came that first time, I sent Paco and Nicolas to have him arrested, but they never found him. Then he just appeared out of nowhere, fully aware of where the gold was. I always suspected he was working with one of the lancers. He must have had someone on the inside giving him information. If that is so, they might have left together."

"That would make four," Angel uttered pensively. "How did they look like?" He asked addressing José.

"That is the strange part, actually."

"What do you mean?"

"The monk said it was two nuns, a strange-looking woman all-wrapped in black and an old gentleman. But they all arrived and left together."

The three brothers looked at each other.

"Then that is exactly what we will be looking for." Jesús stated with a wicked smile and an evil tone in his voice. "And you said they took the stagecoach for Los Angeles? Isn't that convenient… Well, Miguel, do you have any more doubts that we need to pay a visit to that lovely pueblo?"

"Convenient…" Angel stated, unable to shake the bad feeling he was getting every time he thought about the path they had embarked on. "But have you considered they might have decided to go there for a reason?"

"What reason?" Jesús asked.

"I heard rumors." Angel stated. "I heard that El Sabueso had been hired to find out who Zorro was, but he decided to keep that information for himself. Many say he lied by pretending he had found out who he was, but what if he wasn't? What if they went to Los Angeles because he knew they could count on him to protect them?"

"The man is an outlaw, Angel! What makes you think he would protect a magistrate and a detective, both of whom could land him in jail?" Miguel wondered.

"No, Miguel! Angel has a point." His older brother underlined. "We all know Zorro is no common criminal. That's why we have been avoided the area. If he protects them, we will need to come up with a solid plan to get rid of him."

Jesús kicked a stone lying near his feet, making it fly some twenty feet away while his two younger brothers were looking at him pensively.

"Can you still recognize that tracker?" Angel asked José after a few moments of silence.

"I… Si … I could recognize him if I saw him." His man answered.

"What are you thinking?" Jesús asked his younger brother.

"I am thinking that perhaps we are looking at this all wrong. Perhaps it is not the doctor we should be focusing on, but the tracker. Tell me, José, how do you know it was that doctor's son who managed to take you all down?" Angel inquired.

"Pues, jefe, it was because he knew exactly how it had happened. And there were also the clothes. We recognized the clothes since they were Pio's, taken from his cabin." José answered.

"Why the change of clothes?" Jesús wondered. "Unless his were too wet and he could have left a trail otherwise..."

"He had been diving earlier. Perhaps he was cold." Pedro suggested.

"Perhaps…"Angel considered that reasoning. "But didn't you say he had a mask when he attacked you? That detail never stood right with me. Are you absolutely sure it was the same man?"

"What do you mean?" José inquired.

"Well… If it was me, I would only put on a mask if I wanted to make sure nobody knew I did something. That's how it works, doesn't it? We put masks when we attack because we don't want to be identified. But that man took the credit for his deed, so what was the reason for a mask? None in his case. However, if it was the tracker – or don or whoever he is – that attacked you, and he did not want to take credit for his deeds, he would have had every reason to put on a mask…" Angel reasoned.

The nine men stood in silence for a minute, contemplating the idea.

"He did seem taller when he attacked us…" Pedro admitted.

"But why wouldn't he take credit for what he did? You've seen how they treated the Hernandez as a hero. Why would he decide to pretend it wasn't him?" Jesús wondered.

"Because of the gold." Miguel answered. "He wanted our gold, and didn't want anyone to ask questions."

"No…" Jesús replied pensively. "If he is a rich caballero, as the tavern owner told Angel, then he wouldn't have risked his life for the gold. He would have come directly to me with any suspicion, just like that idiot detective did. No… he was there to free those men and just took the gold to spite us!"

"Everybody is in it for the money!" Miguel stated. "Maybe he is a gambler or something, and needs to cover some debts…"

"But how did he know what we were doing? How did he know about the gold?" Angel asked. "Nobody knew but us!"

"That detective knew!" Jesús replied. "Add that to your list of coincidences!"

"What are you thinking?" Miguel asked his brother, Angel, who had suddenly become pensive. In the dim light of the fire, they could see a smug making its way across his face.

"Zorro." Angel answered. "That could be the answer to all our questions." He tried to clarify when he saw the puzzled faces of the men around him.

"How is that?" José wondered.

"What if he was the tracker they took aboard the ship?" Angel asked Jesús not expecting a reply. "If that was the case, it would explain everything. Zorro is considered one of the best trackers in California, so he would have had no problem finding the trails after Pedro and his men abducted the young Hernandez. He is also known for his tricks: like getting you morons to take him to the ship and tell him exactly what we were doing, or like making you believe he was dead when he was just planning his next move. Furthermore, he would have had little problems taking you out, and he would have tried to avoid getting anyone's attention, as long as there were people around who had seen his face."

"Which would explain the mask and the decision not to assume the rescue." Jesús continued his trail of thoughts. "Well… if that is so, that means we know who Zorro is."

"We would if only I could remember his name!" Angel told him in frustration.

"Not to worry, brother!" Jesús smiled at him and patted his back with visible satisfaction for their discovery. "That will not be hard to find out once we get to Los Angeles. With him out of the way, there will be nothing to stop us!"


	15. The Truce

When he arrived in Los Angeles, later that afternoon, after making sure Doctor Hernandez and his son were safely in the cave, Zorro left Tornado behind the cuartel, and headed straight for the Alcalde's office. Sliding silently through the roof window and onto the wooden barns, he landed next to De Soto who was, at that moment, napping in his chair, unaware of the intruder's presence. Zorro took a moment to contemplate him and identify what weapons he had at a close enough distance to be reached. He knew De Soto kept a pistol in his desk, but no other guns were present. The only threat was a dagger the Alcalde had placed a couple of feet away. With a fast enough move on his part, Zorro might get wounded. Fortunately, De Soto is not exactly fast. Zorro thought, as a smile crept on his face.

He carefully took out his sword and pointed it at De Soto, tickling his right cheek with its tip in order to wake him up. Ignacio scratched his cheek and returned to his motionless nap, for which reason, Zorro repeated the action. The second time, as he scratched his cheek again, De Soto half-opened his eyes for a few seconds, enough to spot the intruder who, realizing his purpose was achieved, quickly withdrew his sword.

"Zorro!" The Alcalde exclaimed as he jumped up from his chair. "What are you doing here?"

"I am here because I want a truce, Alcalde" He replied calmly. "Don't!" He added pointing his sword back at De Soto's neck when he saw him attempting to reach for the dagger.

"Why would I offer you a truce?" De Soto asked, frustrated but with a hint of mockery in his voice.

"Because you will need me to capture Commander Timador and his accomplices."

"The ghosts of Timador and his accomplices, you mean. They were sentenced and executed two days ago!" Ignacio stated with a chuckle and assumed an air of superiority resulted from the wrong conviction he had information his nemesis didn't.

"Sentenced, yes. Executed, I'm afraid not."

"How would you know that? If that was true, I should have received a currier carrying such news!"

"You've been here long enough to know I have my ways of finding out things before anyone else does. As for the currier, considering they have all but annihilated the entire Presidio de San Diego when they made their escape, it is rather obvious why none was sent yet. In fact, you might even have to wait for news to arrive by normal mail."

"Even if that is so, I still see no reason to offer you a truce." De Soto replied mockingly.

"I will give you two, in that case. The first reason is that the people you know as Commander Timador and his men are, in fact, the Brothers Ramirez and their men. Since I am sure even you have heard of their gang, I believe you realize that an attack might have the same results it had in San Diego, where half of the lancers and their interim commander perished in the confrontation and the rest were all wounded."

"And why should I believe what you say about San Diego? How can I know it's true?"

"I give you my word, but the choice regarding what you want to believe is yours. However, ask yourself Alcalde, is the risk worth it, if I am telling the truth?"

"And why should I offer you a truce, even if I believed you? My lancers can easily overtake a few outlaws without your help if they will be stupid enough to show their faces in Los Angeles!"

"Your lancers cannot overtake me, and I am not even inclined towards bloodshed. The Ramirez are murderers. They are well trained, ruthless, and do not care how many die in their wake. No to mention they also have at least six accomplices accompanying them. I could deal better with them than your lancers can."

"Right!" De Soto laughed. "You might be a good fighter, Zorro, I'll give you that, but…I think 24 of my lancers are enough to subdue 9 men."

"I did not say that your men could not, eventually, overtake some of them, Alcalde. They might even get lucky and capture or kill the entire gang. However, I also believe that many of them might die or get seriously injured in the process and I, for one, would rather avoid that. If you truly care about your men, about this pueblo, you will agree a truce is in your best interest this time."

De Soto looked at him, wondering if to believe his statement. During the past three years, he had had enough interactions with the masked outlaw to be inclined to believe him. Moreover, he thought, letting him deal with those criminals might even result in his own demise if the men were, indeed, just as skilled as the stories he had heard about them claimed they were.

"Let's say you are right and that… what you say is true," De Soto replied. "How can you be so sure they are coming here?"

"Ah… That's the second reason you will want a truce." The masked man replied with a smirk. "You see, Alcalde, I know they are coming here because they want to take their revenge on Don Fernando Iguara, the magistrate who ruled in their case and who is currently in Los Angeles."

"If there was a Royal Magistrate here, I would know about it, Zorro!"

"No, you wouldn't, Alcalde, since Don Fernando has decided to travel incognito and it would, thus, be risky to let you know he was here."

"You are trying to convince me that a magistrate of the King would trust an outlaw with the information as to his whereabouts but not an official, named by Royal Decree? Do you take me for a fool?"

"I can only take you for what you are, Alcalde." Zorro mocked him. "However, think about it! If the Ramirez are already here, and they might be, wouldn't the magistrate's decision to inform you result in his death, rather than his survival? As for how I know, I can tell you he did not inform me but an acquaintance of mine and, since I know where he is and what name he is currently using, I am fairly certain I can do a better job than you at protecting him."

The Alcalde paced his office, contemplating his options, his right hand caressing his beard in an involuntary gesture he could not prevent even if he noticed it.

"I might be tempted to offer you that truce, Zorro, but what would it entail exactly?" He asked.

"It is rather simple, Alcalde. All I want is for you and your lancers to avoid trying to capture or kill me until the Ramirez Gang is dealt with. I doubt it will take more than 24 hours for them to be here, if they are not already, so you may be sure the truce will not last for too long. If you want to lend a hand, I will not say no, but I would rather you and your men stay on the sidelines and let me deal with them. When it is done, they will be all yours, together with the reward for their capture and the magistrate's gratitude, and I shall be on my way."

"Fine. But as soon as this is over..."

"We resume our normal chase. I enjoy it too much to have it any other way."

"I assure you, you will not enjoy feeling the noose around your neck when I finally capture you."

"I see you are holding on to your dreams, Alcalde!" Zorro noted with a wicked smile. "We have a truce, then?"

"We do. I will instruct my men to leave you alone until the Brothers Ramirez and their men are captured." Ignacio smiled considering ordering his men to shoot his nemesis just as soon as the fight is over, that is, if he was to survive it.

"Oh… something more. "Zorro pretended to just remember when already at the door. "They might also target Manuel Hernandez since he was the one to bring them to justice and sabotaged their plan in the first place. I would recommend assigning a few guards to the doctor's house."

"I will do my best to protect them, Zorro. Thank you for your advice." De Soto conceded with a smug, glad he knew something his masked adversary did not: the doctor and his son had already left town a few hours earlier. Sergeant Mendoza had already told him about that.

Leaving the Alcalde's office, Zorro made a tour of the pueblo and eventually stopped behind the tavern, hiding Tornado in Victoria's stable, behind a large pile of hay that made the large stallion hardly visible. With some swift moves, he climbed the building and entered through one of the windows to find Antonia waiting for him, half-asleep on the bed.

"Where is he?" He asked her, referring to the magistrate.

"In one of the other rooms." She answered. "How did your discussion with the Alcalde go?"

"He agreed to a truce till the Brothers are captured." Zorro answered. "Although, I am inclined to believe he hopes they might kill me first."

"He probably does. And even if he stays true to his word, I hope you realize he will try to capture you the minute those outlaws are no longer a threat."

"I am quite certain of that, Señora." Zorro assured her with some concern in his voice. "But I know how to make a quick escape."

Zorro remained in the room for a while, watching as the tavern was refilling with people. As Antonia went down for her meeting with Don Alejandro, he realized that it was a rather slow evening. Around 9:30 p.m., besides his father and the detective, the only other clients were the Alcalde, who sat alone at a table, waiting for his order, Sergeant Mendoza, already at his second plate of tamales, sharing his table with Corporal Sepulveda, and the other three passengers of the morning stagecoach, which were also the people he was attempting to save. Therefore, realizing there was no reason for him to remain hidden, he decided instead to test De Soto's decision to respect their truce. Climbing down the window, he took some time to look around for possible dangers, and strolled into the tavern through the front door, taking a seat at the Alcalde's table.

"Good evening, Alcalde!" He greeted as he sat down, opposite De Soto, one foot on the bench, his back leaning against a wall and his arms folded across his chest. "I hope you don't mind if I join you. I haven't had dinner yet and I hear Victoria's arroz con pollo is especially delicious tonight." He stated, casually, just as Victoria was coming out the kitchen heading towards De Soto's table with a plate of carne assada.

De Soto stared at him, instinctively taking a hand to his sword, then remembered they had agreed to a truce ,and realized the masked outlaw was testing him. Victoria, in turn, stopped mesmerized by the sight of her beloved sharing a table with the man who was trying to kill him, while Don Alejandro turned at hearing his voice and, like everyone else in the tavern, was watching the scene intrigued at noticing De Soto was not making a move to capture his archenemy.

"By all means, Zorro! I will be happy to share a meal with you." De Soto replied calmly, wondering if this might be an opportunity to get some clues as to the masked man's true identity.

Victoria stood next to the table, switching her confused gaze between the two men, unsure whether what she was seeing and hearing was real. Nobody in the establishment, neither the Alcalde nor the two lancers there made any move against the man she loved.

"Victoria! As beautiful as ever!" He complimented, smiling at her, somewhat amused at the look on her face.

"Is that my dinner, Señorita?" De Soto asked, realizing with some annoyance that she was not handing him the plate.

"Si. Si Alcalde!" She answered as if awoken from a strange dream and, leaving the plate in front of him, she returned to stare at Zorro.

"Do you, by any chance have any more of that aromatic arroz con pollo you prepared today, Victoria?" He asked her.

She glanced again at De Soto and then at Zorro.

"I do." She answered. "Would you...like some?"

"If it's not too much trouble." He answered with a smile and a wink.

"Of course not!" Victoria replied, noticing how calm her beloved seemed to be and concluding he was probably not in danger at that moment. Smiling at him, she rushed to the kitchen and emerged a few minutes later with his order. "Would you also like something to drink, Zorro?" She asked as she put the plate in front of him.

"Why don't you bring us a bottle of your Port?" He asked as De Soto raised his head to stare at him with piercing eyes. "It is your favorite, is it not, Alcalde?" He faked trying to remember that information while Victoria hurriedly brought the wine and two glasses.

"What do you want? And don't tell me you just needed company for dinner!" De Soto snapped at realizing the man before him knew him a bit too well for comfort.

"But that is exactly the truth. I don't much enjoy having dinner all by myself, to be frank!" Zorro answered, calmly digging into his plate, as Victoria was watching the scene from behind the bar.

"I hope you don't expect me to pay for the wine!" De Soto remarked.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Alcalde!" He answered with a smile. "It is my treat!"

The two enemies stared at each other as Victoria poured the two glasses of wine and left the bottle on the table. They both raised their glasses and sipped the wine, not losing eye contact. De Soto took the time to study the man before him but noticed nothing different than what he already knew about him, nothing to give him a clue as to his identity.

"So, Alcalde, tell me: what new taxes are you making up these days?" Zorro asked as if making small talk.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" De Soto answered with a chuckle.

"I certainly would! Take it as an opportunity to save us both some trouble. You tell me your plans, I tell you which I intend to oppose and you cancel them. I don't have to dodge bullets, and you get to save some of your pride!" He stated with a wicked smile.

"I don't discuss taxation plans with outlaws!" De Soto stated as he was finishing his meal.

"As you wish, Alcalde. I guess we will stick to our normal routine then." He answered with a casual tone.

"Tell me! How do you afford to pay for one of the tavern's most expensive wines?" De Soto decided to ask in the hope he might as well dig out some clues.

"As you said, Alcalde. I am an outlaw! What makes you think the money is really mine?"

"Everybody knows you don't actually steal, Zorro. Or that, at least, you don't keep the money! Which means you have enough of your own." De Soto concluded. "Perhaps El Sabueso was right. You must be one of the caballeros! Mendoza probably forgot some names…"

"Now, Alcalde, why would a caballero risk his skin to do what I do?" Zorro challenged his conclusion.

"Too much self-confidence? I can't even begin to understand your motives. You believe I will never catch you, Zorro. But I will, someday! I give you my word!"

"And if you do, Alcalde, which I very much doubt, what charges will you bring against me?"

"I don't need to charge you! It's not like there will be a trial. You are a condemned man, I hope you realize that."

"Still, I would love to hear what I am guilty of!"

"That's a long list. Let's see: liberating criminals..."

"Who proved to be innocent… thus saving you the trouble of having to justify your ill-conceived actions with the Governor." Victoria stated bitterly from behind the bar, where she was standing focused on them.

"Attacking royal troops and officials…" De Soto continued, ignoring her but feeling she was about to irritate him even more than her masked man.

"Carefully not to cause them any real harm and taking every opportunity to save their lives…" She interfered again to Zorro's growing amusement.

"Interfering with governmental business…"He continued as he stared at her.

"To rectify unjust actions and laws…" Victoria replied.

"Señorita, unless you want to spend the night in prison, I suggest you refrain from sharing your opinions! This conversation doesn't involve you!" De Soto menaced her.

"But it does! The truth is Zorro has committed no crime, and even you must admit that, Alcalde!" Victoria stated defiantly.

"Not to mention you wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for him!" Don Alejandro decided to support her point of view, as Zorro remained silent, contemplating the scene with a smile.

"Of course you would think so, De la Vega! You have always been one of his greatest supporters!" De Soto stated, defeated, standing up from his table. "Thank you for dinner, Señorita! Since I and your lover here have a truce, I will refrain from arresting you tonight, but you should consider your words more carefully in the future! Buenas noches, Zorro! Sleep well tonight, it might be your last!" He added with a sly grin and exited the tavern closely followed by Mendoza and Sepulveda, who were glancing at the Alcalde and the masked man, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

"Good night, Alcalde! And same to you!" Zorro answered, saluting the two lancers with a hand gesture as they left.

"Would you like to join us, Señor Zorro?" Don Alejandro asked after the Alcalde and his men exited the tavern.

Zorro hesitated for a moment, wondering if, by accepting, he might give his father the opportunity to realize who he was. Deciding that there was not much danger of that, he took his glass and made his way towards Don Alejandro's table. On his way, he made sure to glance over to the table where the passengers from Santa Paula were sitting, purposely studying each of their faces. "It would be my pleasure, Don Alejandro! Although, I can only stay for a few more minutes." He replied as he sat down.

"Bandits to capture, people to save, I guess..." Don Alejandro wondered.

"Something like that." Zorro smiled at him. "Would you care to join us, Victoria?" He asked the tavern owner, fully aware she needed an explanation regarding his unusual behavior.

"Of course, I would!" She answered enthusiastically and headed their way.

"This is Don Antonio, Señor Zorro." Don Alejandro made the introductions. "He is a friend of my son, Diego."

"Señor!" Zorro greeted and was greeted in turn with an uncomfortable nod.

"So, what was that all about?" Victoria asked intrigued.

"Oh… my dinner with the Alcalde, you mean? Let's say I wanted to test if he would keep his part of a deal we made." Zorro answered with a smile.

"I was sure! Always up to something, aren't you?" She replied amused.

"You know me so well, Señorita!"

"On the contrary! I don't know you at all. I don't even know how you look like under that mask!" She protested, a little crossed with him.

"And that's a good thing, Victoria!" Don Alejandro stated. "Zorro is right in keeping his identity a secret! I, for one, fully agree with your reasons, Señor!"

"I appreciate you saying that, Don Alejandro. I do hope you'll remember that affirmation." Zorro uttered. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'd better be on my way! Victoria, thank you for the meal! You truly are the best cook in the territory!" He complimented her and enjoyed seeing her blush, paid for the meal, and the half-empty bottle of wine, gallantly kissed her hand and, taking his goodbyes from the other patrons, headed out through the kitchen's high window followed by Victoria's longing eyes.

ZZZ

Zorro made sure there were no lancers around, then headed for the stables to check on Tornado. Convinced the Alcalde will respect the truce, he proceeded in taking the saddle off his steed and making sure he had enough food and water for the night. Satisfied his horse was comfortable and not exactly easy to spot, he returned to the tavern and listened from the room as the people staying overnight headed for theirs, while Victoria remained downstairs to finish preparing all she needed for the next day, before closing for the evening.

"You know, if you want your father and Victoria to know your identity, you can just tell them." Antonia uttered as she entered the room to find him lying on the bed.

"I could and I will, but not just yet. However, I thought it rude to refuse my father's invitation and I still find it rather amusing that neither he nor Victoria recognize me. Couldn't resist." He answered as he rose up and leaned against a wall.

"No. You couldn't resist with De Soto either, from what I saw. Victoria made some good points in defending you."

"Yes, she did, didn't she? It always seemed strange to me that I am the outlaw while it is De Soto, and Ramone, before him, who tended to bend the law and commit crimes."

"Perhaps it was good you tested the Alcalde. From the conversations I heard today, you are not the only one who believes he had changed. I heard others say that, as well."

"A brush with death may have such an effect on people."

"Yes… I heard something about that, as well. Tell me, what was all that about saving your life? I think you might have mentioned it before."

"That's a long story, actually."

"I have time."

His entire demeanor changed at thinking of his brother, a fact that did not pass unnoticed by The Hound.

"A few months ago we received the visit of a Royal Emissary: Gilberto Resendo." Diego eventually replied. "He had been sent here to collect 10,000 pesos as a special war tax. The first thing he did when he arrived, though, was to arrest the Alcalde and sentence him to death"

"I met him in Monterey. He was there for a discussion with the Governor before coming to Los Angeles, and seemed quite interested in your family. However, I did see his mandate, and I am quite certain he did not have the power to arrest and execute De Soto."

"I didn't think so, either, which was why I prevented the execution. Ignacio might be a lot of things, but a traitor, as the Emissary claimed, he is not. As for Gilberto's interest in my family, unfortunately, we only found out the reason behind it when it was already too late."

"Is it true that De Soto killed him?"

"Yes, he did. He did it to save my life...and his, since he and was about to be executed, together with Mendoza, that very afternoon."

"So, why was he so interested in your family? And how did De Soto end up saving you, of all people?"

"Gilberto Resendo was, actually, Gilberto de la Vega. My twin brother. The woman he called 'mother' his entire life had stolen him from my parents and made sure they never knew about his existence. She raised him filling my brother with hatred against his own family. As for the Alcalde, well… after being sentenced to death a second time, De Soto tried to steal one of our horses to make his escape, when he stumbled upon Gilberto pointing a gun at me, intended on pressing the trigger. He shot him in the back, thus saving my life. That shot was rather timely, too, since Gilberto had discovered my secret and was one word away from revealing it."

She kept silent for a few minutes, trying to imagine the scenes he was describing.

"I cannot see him as your brother…He seemed like your exact opposite…"

"We never had a chance to be brothers and he never got the chance to be raised in a loving home, as I have. I'd like to think that, had we grown up together, things would have been very different between us. He was quite astute and a good swordsman…It was unjust that we were never allowed to truly know each other for the brothers we were!"

"You of all people should know better than to assume this world is in any way just."

"I know exactly how this world is, which is why I do my best to change it. There is a great potential for goodness in every human being, but most people make the wrong choices for the wrong reasons."

Another moment of silence followed Diego's statement, only interrupted by the sound of Victoria breaking one of the glasses she was washing downstairs.

"May I ask you something?" He wondered, deciding to give in to his curiosity.

She nodded, so he felt encouraged to continue.

"Don Armando… how did he come to work for you?"

"That is a very long story, my friend. But, I guess I can try to make it shorter…" She answered with a sad smile. "Remember I told you what my husband was up to? Well, one of the women he tried to harm was Armando's niece, Joséfina. He had raised her like a daughter, since her parents had perished, when she was a toddler. Gael and his cohorts abducted the poor girl and were about to rape her. She was 14 at the time, six years younger than me, and it was only by pure luck that I managed to save her. You see, I had been growing suspicious at my husband's behavior for some time, but I had no idea what he and his friends were doing, until I overheard them brag about it one evening. After that night I started following them and collecting proof of their abominable deeds. That was how they inadvertently led me to Joséfina. I managed to create a diversion and free her, then took the poor girl with me and hid her for three weeks until I managed to find enough evidence to make sure Gael and his friends got the capital sentence for all their crimes. However, since I could neither present the evidence nor testify against him, being his wife, Joséfina suggested contacting her uncle, Armando. He was, eventually, the one who presented the proof needed to sentence my husband. It would have been the end of it, since we each went our separate ways afterward, until we met again some four years later. By that time, Joséfina had died in childbirth, unfortunately, and her uncle was devastated, wasting his life and money in taverns and brothels. So I decided to rescue him and offer him a partnership. A purpose, rather, I should say. He became the face of El Sabueso, and I got a chance to do what I was always meant to do, despite having been born a woman."

"And are you…I mean…"

"Lovers?"

"I'm sorry! I shouldn't ask… it is none of my business."

"We are not… I hated being married, you know? All of it! Gael managed to make me hate even the idea of being touched by a man. Plus, Armando and I don't see each other that way. Never have, never will. He is my family as I am his, but our relation is… different. He is loyal to me and I am loyal to him and none of us wants a different life than the one we have together, however strange it might seem to others." She replied.

"It is a rare thing to find such loyalty in someone you are not related to, either by blood or by marriage."

"And that just makes it more valuable." She approved with a smile.

"I thought you were staying here!" Antonia said at noticing his intention to head out when the only thing they could hear downstairs at that point was Victoria rearranging the benches. "I asked for some extra blankets earlier and you can sleep on the floor."

"I appreciate that, but I have another arrangement in mind." He replied as he put one foot out. "Don't worry! I shall be around should anything happen. Just… scream or something."

"You won't live to see that day, Señor! But I have a good idea where to find you!" She answered with a smirk.

Making his way through the tavern's back door, Zorro waited for Victoria to finish arranging the taproom, and took her hand to kiss it when she stepped into the kitchen.

"You are back!" She noticed enthusiastically and hurried into his arms, standing up on her toes, looking into his blue eyes.

He leaned down, slowly caressing her lips with his, and, when she responded delighted by his initiative, they lingered in that ever-more passionate kiss until they eventually parted to catch their breath.

"I never left, Victoria." He whispered, caressing her cheek. "In fact, I need to remain here all night. Your new guests are in danger, and I need to be here should anything happen."

"Then why did you say you needed to leave? Don Alejandro was so happy with the chance to finally have a conversation with you!"

"The only conversation I am up to right now is with you. One that does not include many words, preferably." He stated leaning down to kiss her again.

"Would you like to stay in my room?" She asked, hoping the emotions brought about by her questions would not be as clear to him as she perceived them to be. She also hoped she was not blushing as much as she knew she was.

"I confess I was hoping you would allow me to do that." He answered.

"Just give me a minute to finish here, and I'll be right with you!" She stated, hoping, once more, that that was the night they would finally decide to give in to their passion for each-other… or/and he would unmask for her.

She rapidly washed the few plates left, and, taking his hand, guided him to her bedroom. There, she placed a candle on the nightstand and sat on the bed, waiting to see what he would do, unsure as to what to expect. After the few nights he had come over while she was wearing the red sash, she had noticed that his self-control was beginning to crumble but, although she wanted him to make her his, she also feared it at the same time.

Zorro smiled at her, noticing she was trembling. He took off his gloves, his hat, his boots and his belt with the weapons he carried, then lied down next to her, reaching for her waist and drawing her into his arms. Victoria responded, turning to kiss him, but he stopped her.

"Victoria, if I, again, start kissing you here, on your bed, I might not be able to stop at that. I am not made of stone, you know? All I want for now is to be allowed to rest a little with you in my arms." He stated.

Victoria stood up on her elbow, looking into his dreamy blue eyes, and put her head on his chest.

"May I ask you to do something?" She inquired after a few minutes of silence while slowly feeling his muscles under his black silk shirt.

"What would you like me to do, mi amor?"

"If I blow off the candle, can you take your mask off, like you did that other night, so that I can caress your hair?"

"I believe I can do that, as long as you promise you will not try to find out who I am yet, even if you have the chance to see my face." He answered, after taking a little time to think.

Victoria agreed and blew off the candle, then turned towards him as he took off his mask. She raised her right hand to his face, following the shape of his jawline towards his cheeks, and resting it a little on his temples. Caressing his smooth skin, she then directed her hand towards his hair, happy to comb it with her fingers, before returning her attention to his mouth and reaching to touch his lips with hers in a passionate kiss he was unable to resist.

It took all his willpower to stop from going any further, as she was no longer caressing his hair but already exploring his body, reaching to unbutton his shirt. He carefully shackled her hands in his and placed a kiss on her forehead, as he encouraged her to let her head rest on his chest. She protested a little, as she usually did, but eventually gave up her resistance. After realizing, from her breathing, that she had already fallen asleep, he put back on his mask and allowed himself to rest, doing his best to remain awake but failing rather quickly.


	16. The Hand of Destiny

"Come on, you lazy bunch! Wake up!" Miguel 'encouraged' their men as the upper part of the sun was just visible on the horizon.

Angel had been barely able to sleep for a couple of hours that night, plagued by nightmares as he was. Laying on his back, glad it was already morning, he was trying to come up with a carefully-thought-out plan for the day ahead. That was, after all, his role in the gang: come up with the plans to follow. A decent swordsman and a rather good-shooter, he was not as skilled with weapons as his two brothers were, so he had learned quickly to make himself indispensable by becoming 'the brains' of their operation.

In fact, it was Angel who had come up with the plan to replace Commander Timador and his men, after they had found out the sunken ship, thanks to the log they had taken from one of their kidnap victims. He was also the one who came up with an idea on how to recover the treasure and convinced his brothers to only abduct people in the northern part of the territory so that nobody would search for them anywhere near San Diego. Had he been on the ship or at the house when it all went down, he would have certainly found a way out of that predicament, just as he came up with a plan to get his brother and their men out of jail. It was a very good plan and, had the lancers not been warned about the prison break, the entire gang would have survived, while all the lancers would have died.

Who warned them and how did he know his plan was, however, beyond his comprehension. It was also the reason why he had spent much of the sleepless nights which followed the liberation of the prisoners from the ship, by wondering about this unknown saboteur who, somehow, seemed to know all their plans. It was the same perpetrator that had entered his dreams, laughing at him from afar, at his every idea, at his every move, menacing he would always be there to make sure none of his plans would ever again succeed.

Now his brothers and their men were counting on him to decide on a plan to defeat Zorro, preferably after he had returned the stolen gold and the ship log to them, and he was feeling the shadowy presence of the saboteur once more, even when awake.

"How do you think we should do this?" Jesús asked him as they were roasting some rabbits to eat for breakfast.

"I think we should be careful." His younger brother answered. "If the detective and the magistrate are already in Los Angeles, that means that the garrison is on alert, waiting for an attack. It would be better for me and Miguel to go first, since the lancers had not yet seen any of us in San Diego. We can take a look around and try to find out the name of the man who had been in San Diego with the doctor. When we find him, we'll need for José to have a good look at him. We can't afford to be wrong about this. If he is not the tracker, he is not Zorro and we will have nothing on him. If he is, we will just have to 'convince' him to give back what he took from us. After we have the gold and the log, we can get on with killing all the cabrones. As you said, it is convenient to have them all in one place."

"Yes. That is what we'll do, hermanito." Jesús agreed. "We will need to find a hiding place near Los Angeles and we'll wait for your return before making any other move."

"We know a cave… some four miles… south… of the pueblo… You can wait there." Miguel suggested, with his mouth full while eating a rabbit leg. "Pedro knows it."

"Fine. We'll go there and you two head straight for Los Angeles." Jesús decided.

They all left together, splitting into two groups about ten miles outside the pueblo.

ZZZ

Zorro woke up alone, half an hour after Victoria. It seemed already rather late in the morning and the tavern owner was nowhere in sight. A few minutes later, just as he was checking his mask, wondering if the woman he loved now knew his identity, she came in with coffee and breakfast for both.

"I didn't know what you eat in the morning, so I made prepared you a few things." She said with a big grin on her face at seeing him awake.

"It is quite a full plate you have there!" He noticed, glancing over at the wonderful display of her cooking skills. "Enough for us both."

"No…this is just for you. I don't usually eat much in the morning." She answered.

"Then, we are to miss the opportunity to have our first breakfast together?" He teased her, but Victoria still hesitated.

"Alright…" She agreed at seeing his expression. "I will have an enchilada."

She left the tray on the bed between them and sat as if she would if they were out for a picnic.

"Did you respect your promise?" Zorro asked, silently praying she had, while eating a piece of bread.

"I did." She confirmed. "I am not saying I wasn't tempted…"

"As long as you didn't act on that temptation… Trust me, Victoria, it is better for both of us that you don't know yet." He told her while caressing her cheek.

She nodded sadly and returned to focus on their breakfast.

"Have you already opened the tavern?" Zorro asked a few moments later, as he was savoring his coffee.

She was looking at his manner of raising the cup to his mouth, thinking it seemed quite familiar, but his question interrupted her trail of thoughts, before she realized just why.

"No, not yet. I decided to only open at eight today, so I might stay here, with you, a little longer." Victoria replied with a sly grin. "I don't think I spent so much time with you since the day you proposed."

"That's true…" He agreed.

"Are you from this pueblo?" She asked suddenly.

"Does it matter?"

"Please don't do that, Zorro! You never give me any answer about yourself. I have agreed to marry you without even knowing your identity. Can't you, at least, let me know you a little?"

"As long as my answers don't endanger you…" He replied, hesitating. "Si, Victoria. I am from Los Angeles."

"Perfect!" She answered almost glowing. "Then I won't have to move away when we marry." Victoria answered an unexpressed question that had been on her mind for a long time already.

"What if we'll have to leave this place in order to marry?" He asked her. "Would you come with me? The way things are, I might only get to wed you if I get a pardon, or if we go someplace else. Although, I don't want to leave either."

"Diego told me a few days ago that Mexico might proclaim its independence by the end of the year and claim California, as well. De Soto will leave if that happens, and you will be free to remove that mask." Victoria suggested.

"That might be so…" He stated pensively. "But… I am not sure removing this mask will ever be a good idea."

"So what? I'll never see your face? Never know who you are? How will you marry me then?" She asked. "And how about our children? Will they also have to wear masks if they look like you, just to make sure no one knows who you are?"

"Of course not, mi amor!" He chuckled at the idea of a hacienda filled with little Zorros running around. "And I didn't say you will never know my true identity. It is just a matter of perspective. If I cannot remove this mask, you can still marry the man behind it."

"That I can do right now, then!"

"No, Victoria. The pardon needs to come first. If you marry an outlaw and somebody discovers my true identity, you will be hanged with me, and I cannot allow that to happen. We just need to be patient a little longer and, if the pardon won't come, we will decide together what to do at the proper time."

"Alright…Zorro. I will be patient. I have been for many years already, so one or two more will make little difference. But I am counting on you to keep your promise. I couldn't bear losing you before even getting the chance to be with you."

"I will be careful, Victoria. But, if I am to..."

"Don't even say it! You will be fine and we will both be happy and live to be eighty, and wrinkled and still in love!" She interrupted him with tears forming in her eyes. "I know we will!"

"And I will make everything I can to make that happen!" He assured her.

They took another break from the conversation while Victoria turned away to wipe a few tears.

"Do you want children?" She asked.

"I do. If they will have you as a mother."

"How many?"

"As many as you want. I will love them all the same."

"I think you will make a wonderful father!"

"I hope so."

"Do you want girls or boys?"

"It doesn't matter. I just want them to be healthy and happy."

"Will you move here, at the tavern, or will you want me to move in with you."

"It is up to you, really. But I would prefer the second option, if you'll agree."

"You want me to move to your cave?" She teased.

"No… I don't intend to share you either with Tornado or with…" He almost said 'Felipe' but stopped just in time.

Victoria looked at him with big inquiring eyes.

"You were about to give me a big clue, weren't you?" She asked.

"Well… Perhaps it is time to open the tavern, Victoria. Your patrons might be wondering what is the reason for the delay…" Zorro tried to change the subject.

"Is there someone helping you? It's that it? Someone I know, perhaps?" Victoria decided to get one more piece of information out of him.

"I'd rather not answer those questions."

"I'd feel better knowing there is someone there for you. At least, that way, I'd be sure you are not alone when you need help." She explained, caressing his cheek and leaning in for a kiss, fully aware their first morning together was about to end soon, but also, more than relieved with his answers.

"Feel better, then." He uttered, when their lips parted for a moment.

"It's not a woman, is it?" She suddenly felt the need to know, moving a little away from him, so that she could carefully scrutinize his eyes.

"No, Victoria. Not a woman." He reassured her with a broad smile. "You are the only woman I'd ever want to take care of me."

Satisfied with this last assurance, she left him in her room and headed downstairs to open the tavern a little after eight.

ZZZ

The two brothers Ramirez arrived in Los Angeles a little before eight in the morning. Angel's first thought was to go by the tavern to inquire after the information he needed, but the door was closed. He tried to open it, just in case, and, when he found it locked, he crossed the plaza to the cuartel.

"Corporal!" Angel shouted at the half-asleep man, leaning on a wall, pretending to be guarding the Alcale's door.

"What do you want?" Sepulveda asked, annoyed by the disturbance.

"I need to see the doctor. Can you tell me where I can find him?"

"In Santa Paula!" The Corporal answered with a smug.

"Santa Paula? So there is no doctor in this pueblo? I was told to look for Doctor…." Her…something. Damn my inability to remember names! Angel thought and looked at his brother.

"Hernandez." Miguel helped him.

"Si, he is our doctor. But his son is ill. He went with him to Santa Paula to seek the advice of a colleague of his."

Angel mumbled some curses, then remembered he had a job to do. If the doctor was away, at least he needed to find the tracker and the stagecoach passengers.

"Tell me, Corporal, what time does the tavern open?" He demanded to know.

"Usually at seven. I guess Señorita Escalante woke up late today. It should open soon, don't worry." He replied, noticing Sergeant Mendoza coming out of the cuartel.

"Can you answer me one more question…" Angel tried to ask the name of the man who had accompanied the doctor to San Diego.

"Corporal!" Mendoza called him to attention as he neared his man. "Anything to report? The Alcalde told you to stay alert in case the Ramirez gang dares to show up here!"

"I didn't see them, Sergeant. It is only these two men who came to the pueblo so far."

Angel noticed the Sergeant studying him, and Miguel instinctively took his hand to the knives he kept attached to his belt. Realizing it was too soon for a conflict with the soldiers, the older brother decided to prevent it.

"We were just asking what time the tavern opens." Angel tried to defuse the situation.

"The tavern? Look! Señorita Escalante is just opening it now." Mendoza noticed, scratching his head. "I will be heading there myself for breakfast." He added, and Angel cursed again, silently, since he was too tired to think of something better to do.

Meanwhile, both Zorro and Antonia had noticed the two men discussing with Sepulveda, and, although only one recognized them, they were both quite sure they were members of the gang.

While Zorro made his way out of Victoria's room and into the high passage of her kitchen, from where he could observe most of the taproom without being noticed, Antonia got dressed as quickly as she could, checked that her beard, her mustache, and her wig were still fine, and knocked three times in a row, then once, on the doors to the rooms occupied by the nuns and the older gentleman. It was their signal that they should stay inside. After having done so, she got downstairs and sat at a corner table, waiting for her breakfast.

Victoria hurriedly brought her some coffee and a plate of huevos rancheros with a loaf of bread. As there was no other customer at that point, she redirected her attention towards Mendoza. The Sergeant sat at the first table by the door and didn't need to order anything since Victoria knew what he wanted, so she brought him a similar plate as she had brought Antonia, but with a double portion of eggs, and a big cup of coffee. The two brothers, trying to get as far away from the Sergeant as possible, sat at the table near Antonia's and other people soon came in to fill the rest of the empty seats in the tavern. Victoria became quite busy rather quickly, and it was only Pilar's arrival that made her slow down a little.

"I think we should ask one of the tavern wenches." Miguel suggested as Angel was busy scanning the room for a tall, dark-haired caballero with a mustache, unaware that the man he was searching for was watching him from a few feet to his left and a few more up.

"We should have brought José with us…" Angel considered.

"You said it yourself the lancers might recognize him." Miguel stated. "We just need to find out who accompanied Doctor Hernandez. If he recognizes the man we'll know it's him. I wonder where those four might be. I see no nun here." He commented after a quick look at the people in the tavern.

"Señorita!" Angel called Victoria who was busy taking orders and had forgotten to take theirs.

"Just a minute, Señor!" She answered while heading to the kitchen to bring two plates of food ordered by two vaqueros. "What would you like?"

"I would like you, bonita!" Miguel answered, trying his luck with the tavern owner.

"I'm afraid that I am not on the menu, Señor." She answered bitterly as Zorro frowned.

"Forgive my brother, Señorita. We will have the huevos rancheros, por favor." Angel asked, trying to appease her.

"And a bottle of rum!" Miguel stated

"Coffee would be better, Miguel!"

"Men drink rum! How many times do you want me to repeat that to you?"

"A bottle of rum for us to share and a coffee for me, in that case…" Angel conceded.

"Right away!" Victoria replied, feeling uneasy about the two strangers, and headed for the kitchen, only to emerge a few minutes later with their orders.

"Señorita! I was wondering if you could help us with some information." Angel tried to sound pleasing. "We are looking for a good tracker and I understand the pueblo's doctor knows one, but he is not here, so we can't ask him. Can you tell us who is the best tracker around?"

"That would be Zorro…but I doubt he is available…" She answered with a smug.

"Yes…no…I mean, besides him."

"A tracker? I…I don't know. Maybe the Alcalde. Or perhaps Don Alejandro."

"Don Alejandro? Yes, that might be him. A young gentleman…"

"Young? No…Don Alejandro is 60 years old…" She chuckled.

"That's not him," Angel stated, a little discouraged. "Señorita… I was told that the doctor went to San Diego recently with…"

At that very moment, before he could complete the description and Victoria could answer them, Antonia decided Victoria had said more than enough. Thus, on her way to the bar, a coffee cup in her hand, she stumbled on the tavern owner and poured the rest of the warm drink on her blouse.

"Perdoname, Señorita!" She tried to apologize. "I didn't mean to! I was distracted… Please, allow me to pay for a new blouse, since I clearly ruined this one!"

Victoria studied the stain and the man apologizing, and decided to be forgiving.

"It is alright… I will just leave it in water for a few hours and it will come out. It is not the first coffee stain it gets, Señor." She answered, heading for her room to change.

Zorro watched the episode grateful for Antonia's intervention, while the detective looked at the two men and decided they should leave the tavern before Victoria came back.

"Hola, Señores!" She greeted them. "You seem familiar. Are you from San Diego?"

Angel and Miguel stared at her, then at each other.

"No, you must be mistaken." Miguel answered while calmly pouring his brother a glass of rum, encouraging him to drink it.

"I must be." She stated and continued out loud, trying to get Mendoza's attention. "You look just like two of the Commander Timador's lancers." Antonia added with a smug at noticing that the Sergeant's lethargic wheels were finally moving.

"We are no lancers, I assure you, Señor. Now, if you'd kindly return to your table, my brother and I are trying to have a private conversation." Angel became annoyed at the pathetic excuse of a man who recognized them.

"Si. Mil disculpas." She apologized to them and returned to her table to continue eating her breakfast as slowly as she possibly could while keeping an eye on them and continuing to listen to their conversation.

"We need to leave." Angel stated, finishing his glass of rum and regretting having asked for only one cup of coffee. "The Sergeant is looking at us. How unlucky can we be to stumble upon the one idiota who recognizes us?" He added.

"We just need to wait for the tavern wench to return and tell us the name of the man who went to San Diego with the doctor, and we can go." Miguel stated.

Right then, noticing Victoria was about to return to the taproom, as there were no longer many patrons in the tavern, Zorro made a discreet sign towards Antonia, who had noticed him some ten minutes earlier. Leaving her table to return to her room, she stopped Victoria on her way with an undecided left, then right step, mimicking the tavern owner's intended direction. With Victoria and Antonia at a comfortable distance, Zorro decided to make an appearance.

As soon as came from the kitchen, heading towards the table occupied by the two brothers, Miguel, who was on alert and saw him at once, stood up and threw two daggers at him, while Angel took out his gun. Zorro deflected the daggers with his sword and pushed Angel's arm, causing the bullet to spill one of Victoria's bottles of wine, rather than his blood. Taking advantage of Angel's weakened state and slow responses, he then proceeded to knock him out with a fast punch, while Miguel was pulling out two more daggers, ready to use them to attack the masked man.

The other people in the tavern stood up at noticing Zorro, and tried to merge with the surrounding walls, doing their best to stay out of his way. The ones near the door, including Mendoza, quickly made their way outside, while Antonia dragged Victoria to her room in an intent to get her away from the fight. Victoria panicked at realizing she was in a room with a strange man, but slowly relaxed at seeing he was more interested in watching the fight through the slightly opened door, rather than in her.

"We are safe here till the fight it's over, Señorita." Antonia told her.

Victoria still looked around the room trying to find a weapon in case the strange man attacked her.

"I am not going to attack you." The detective assured her, as if reading her mind "I just thought Zorro might want to keep you safe. I am sure Don Diego and Don Alejandro certainly would." She added, noticing her former employer was still unconvinced.

"How is he doing?" Victoria asked, now fully relaxed at remembering the man was a friend of the De la Vegas, thus posing no threat.

"He managed to dodge quite a few knives so far!" Antonia answered, preoccupied to see Miguel was quite a challenge for Zorro who, besides avoiding the knives thrown at him, also had to make sure he was not endangering someone else when deflecting them with his sword.

Seconds after she said that, seeing how an unfortunate move left Zorro's sword caught in one of the tavern's wooden pillars, Miguel threw his last dagger at the masked outlaw, aiming for his heart. All Zorro could do was get out of the blade's way at the last moment, and the dagger continued its trajectory only to stop in the Alcalde's left shoulder. The man was just coming in, alerted by Mendoza.

In pain and upset to see that the blade had ruined his new tailcoat, De Soto unsheathed his sword, intended to point it at Miguel in order to determine him to surrender. However, just as he stepped closer to him, he slipped on some spilled wine and ended up thrusting the sword through the thug's neck. The bandit died, convulsing on the floor, just as De Soto retrieved his sword and focused on stopping the bleeding in his shoulder with a cloth Victoria had discarded on the bar.

"Are these the Ramirez?" De Soto asked when the man was already dead.

"These are two of the brothers." Zorro answered him after a quick look at Antonia, who confirmed with a head nod, just as she was coming down the stairs, following Victoria. "This one and the one knocked out over there…" he continued, pointing towards Angel who was lying on the floor.

"Take him to jail, Mendoza!" De Soto asked. "And ask Gomez and Reyes to come take care of the body."

"That wound will need stitches, Alcalde." Zorro pointed out after struggling a little with De Soto to let him inspect his injury.

"Yes… Sepulveda! Go to the De la Vega Hacienda and bring Don Diego here. With the doctor out of town, he will have to do…"

"I can help with that, Alcalde!" Antonia offered, realizing it was better if De Soto didn't know that Diego had also left the previous day, or he might become suspicious. "My father is a doctor and I was his apprentice when I was younger." She wasn't lying since her father had, indeed, been a doctor once, and she had helped him on occasion while growing up, even continuing her medical preparation while in University.

"And you are?" De Soto questioned, finding the stranger strangely familiar.

"I am Don Antonio Montez, from Buenaventura. I am an acquaintance of the De la Vegas, here on business. I will gladly be at your service, Señor Alcalde." She replied with a slight bow.

"Right! I saw you dining with Don Alejandro last evening, if I remember correctly." De Soto stated.

"Si. Don Alejandro was kind enough to lend me one of his horses during my stay in Los Angeles and I took the opportunity to inquire about some of his mares I might be interested in buying."

"I see. And you are sure you know how to stitch a wound? If I lose my arm I will make sure you'll hang, I hope you understand that!" The Alcalde informed the man before him.

"I am very sure, Señor. Do not worry. You'll be in good hands with me."

De Soto nodded and signaled Antonia to follow him to his office, where he proceeded in taking off his coat, vest and shirt. The dagger had sliced his upper muscle, but the wound, while deep, was not very serious. In the absence of appropriate medical supplies, she poured tequila on the wound, unable to hide a small grin at hearing De Soto scream in pain, then left him to drink some liquor straight from the bottle, to numb the pain. By the time she had finished stitching and patching up the wound, De Soto had deposited all the rest of the tequila in his own body, as a defiant challenge to his liver, and was completely drunk.

Meanwhile, Mendoza instructed two of his men to carry Angel to a cell and they left him to fall heavily on the floor, unwillingly causing him to sprain his right wrist, after Zorro's punch had already fractured his jaw.

ZZZ

Worried about his brothers' failure to return to the cave by noon, Jesús decided to send Alvaro and José to search for them. The young men arrived in the pueblo an hour later, to find a crowd of people discussing the day's events in the tavern. A large red stain was still indicating the place where Miguel had died, and, after listening to the witnesses' accounts, they decide to return in a hurry to the cave. On their way out the tavern, Alvaro bumped into Don Alejandro, making him spill his glass of orange juice on his shirt.

The two men managed to escape the pueblo without being recognized by the lancers, but, on their way to the camp, Alvaro's horse got frightened by a snake and reared. They were crossing a ravine at the time and the horseman fell on a large boulder, breaking his neck at impact, dying in just a few seconds. José hurried to the hideout to inform Jesús about the fate of his two brothers, not even noticing his companion was no longer on his steed, which had been instinctually following him after losing his rider.

"Miguel is dead!?" Jesús screamed at hearing the news, using all his self-control not to kill de bearer of such bad news with his bare hands. "And Angel?"

"In prison! We didn't know what to do so we came back as soon as we heard." José replied.

"Where's Alvaro?" Jesús asked at noticing the absence of the second rider.

"I don't know. He was right behind me!" José replied, just noticing the man was absent.

"Search the area!" Jesús ordered his men. "Who killed my brother?" He questioned José after the others scattered.

"The Alcalde. I heard he had been fighting Zorro, but the Alcalde killed him."

"Then De Soto had just added himself to our list!" He noted with pure hatred in his voice. "What do you know about the men we are searching for?"

"Nothing. We haven't seen any of them in town. I am not even sure they are there anymore. They must have known we were coming 'cause they all left."

"Maldito sea ese pueblo!" Jesús cursed Los Angeles.

"Maybe we should just take the gold we have and leave, jefe!" José suggested.

"Leave? Abandon my brother to be executed? Leave them with the gold? Forget they owe me their lives for what they did? No, José! We are not leaving… We are going to make them repent for having ever crossed paths with us!" Jesús stated with such heated determination that José felt a cold shiver making its way down his spine.

"Jefe!" Pedro came to inform him. "We found Alvaro. He fell down the ravine, and he is dead. His neck is broken."

"Maldita!" Jesús cursed again as he was furiously pacing, now, trying to think up the most excruciating tortures he wanted inflicted on his enemies. Since he had killed his brother, De Soto had moved at the top of his "to kill" list, closely followed by Zorro, the Hernandez, the detective, the magistrate, and anyone else who was stupid enough to cross his path right then. Like José, who, decided to annoy him even more, suggested again to leave with the gold they had, thus fully deserving for one of Jesús' bullets to traverse his head moments later.

"Get ready, men!" Jesús shouted while reloading his gun. "We attack now!"

ZZZ

With the Alcalde drunk, sleeping peacefully in his bed after having completely trashed his office, the lancers were rather disconcerted as to what they should do. Since De Soto had not shared with his men all the details Zorro had given him about the Ramirez Brothers and their gang, Sergeant Mendoza thought that the gang was already annihilated with the death of one of the brothers and the incarceration of the other. Therefore, no longer considering them a threat, he had not kept the garrison on high alert for further danger, leaving only two men to guard the cuartel.

Under these circumstances, when they entered Los Angeles, Jesús and the rest of his men encountered no resistance, most of the lancers being either tucked in their beds for the siesta, or finishing their meals and their stories in the tavern. Busting through the tavern doors, the gang surprised the few people in the taproom, and disarmed the lancers there before they had the chance to react. Having expected the attack, Zorro was preparing to intervene, but hesitated, afraid he might determine the desperados to kill someone if he made a wrong move. As things stood, the people in the tavern were their prisoners, but were still unharmed. Realizing there should be seven men but only five had attacked, he also wondered where the other two were. Believing they might be expecting somewhere a signal from their leader, he eventually decided to wait in Antonia's room, and see what happens.

The first thing Jesús did was having Mendoza order his men to bring Angel to the tavern. Fearing for his life, but also for the lives of the people being held at gunpoint by the perpetrators, the Sergeant gave the order. Soon after, Gomez and Sepulveda released the younger Ramirez and returned together with him.

"Estas bien, hermanito?" Jesús asked him when he entered the door.

Angel tried to answer but could not because of his broken jaw.

"Malditos!" Jesús cursed. "What did they do to you?" He asked, inspecting his brother's wounds.

"Mig…" Angel tried to ask.

"Dead." Jesús answered, suddenly remembering he wanted to kill De Soto. "Sergeant! Where is the Alcalde?"

Mendoza was about to tell him when Antonia intervened.

"He was wounded and there is no doctor in the pueblo. The lancers took him to Santa Paula." She lied looking intently at Mendoza who realized the reason for her answer and confirmed, signaling the others to do the same.

Angel looked around the room and spotted two tall black-haired men.

"Jos…" He again tried to ask.

"José and Alvaro are also dead." Jesús told him, unaware he was, at the same time, informing Zorro there was no backup. "Pedro! Can you see him?" He asked his man.

Pedro looked around and denied recognizing the one they were looking for.

"The doctor and his son! Where are they?" He asked Mendoza.

"They left yesterday for Santa Paula. His son is very ill and he needed a colleague's advice on how to help him." The Sergeant answered.

Jesús cursed again loudly and repeatedly, the extended knowledge of expletives he demonstrated making even the vaqueros present in the tavern blush.

"Detec…" Angel tried again to speak.

At that moment, aware of what was to be the gang's next move, Zorro exited through the window and made his way to the adjacent room, where the 'nuns' were. The bulkier one was closely embracing the slimmer one, both awaiting the probable attack from the men they could clearly hear downstairs. The masked outlaw knocked slowly on their window, and, when they opened, he asked them to hide under the bed, while he slowly made his way inside the room, positioning himself near the entrance and quietly unlocking the door.

Meanwhile, Jesús sent three of his men to check the rooms upstairs. Busting open the first door, they searched the room and found it empty, so they moved to the next one. Seconds after they entered it, the people downstairs could hear two loud bangs as Zorro bumped together the heads of the two closest to him, letting them slide to the floor, before taking out his sword and pointing it to the third bandit's back. Whispering, he asked him to let go of his gun.

"What's going on up there?" Jesús asked when the loud noises were heard.

"Tell him you found the nuns, and you need help carrying them." Zorro asked him.

"We found the nuns. We need help to bring them down." The man obeyed.

"Pedro!" Jesús indicated and the man headed for the room just as Zorro was using the pressure points on the other man's neck to knock him unconscious as well, then retreated back next to the wall, waiting for Pedro to arrive.

When the man entered the room, he froze at seeing his comrades lying on the floor and, sensing movement behind him, turned just in time to see a black fist seconds before it clashed with his face.

"Tie them up! Hurry!" Zorro ordered the 'nuns' moments before exiting the door and jumping down in the taproom where only Jesús and Angel were left.

Jesús aimed at him with his gun and shot, but Zorro was faster and the bullet missed his head. Hurrying to deliver a well-placed punch aimed at knocking down the gang leader, Zorro stopped when Angel grabbed Victoria with the one good hand he had left and menaced to strangle her.

"Swor…" Angel uttered.

"Drop your sword or the Señorita dies!" Jesús voiced his brother's unspoken words.

Zorro studied the two men and decided to obey, slowly depositing his sword on the floor, right in front of him.

"Where are our men?" Jesús asked him.

"Taking a nap upstairs." Zorro answered with a grin, studying the two men and pondering his next moves.

"You will pay for this!" Jesús uttered as he took a dagger in his left hand, and drew his sword with his right, preparing to attack him.

Right then, Mendoza, who was standing behind Angel, having taken a bottle of wine from a table, smashed it on Angel's head, knocking him down and, thus, liberating Victoria. The young tavern owner hurried by the lancer's side and the two retreated towards one of the tavern's corners. Jesús was distracted for a few seconds, watching his brother fall to the ground and almost gave in to the temptation of attacking Mendoza, which gave Zorro the needed time to retrieve his sword with a fast leg movement that landed it back in his hand.

The two quickly engaged in a vicious swordfight, the oldest Ramirez being renowned for his skill with the sword. Looking to protect as much as possible the people in the tavern, Zorro changed places with Jesús in the heat of the battle, and, as soon as his back was towards the door, he started to retreat, guiding his adversary out of the tavern and into the empty plaza.

The swordfight continued and both adversaries were getting tired. Mendoza made sure to lock the doors to the tavern when they exited, and asked his men to tie up Angel again, making sure he would not escape. At that point, most of the people in the tavern decided to watch the fight from the balcony, leaving the soldiers to carry down the rest of the men from the magistrate's room.

While the swordfight was starting in the tavern, De Soto woke up with a very bad hangover. Moving slowly, he started hearing the noises made by the clashes of the two swords in the plaza and they made him feel like his head was about to explode. Upset and barely able to gather his thoughts, he took his pistol, determined to put a bullet in whatever cabron was responsible for the noise.


	17. The Hand of Destiny 2

Exiting his office, Ignacio saw Zorro fight Jesús but, at the same time, he was spotted by the older Ramirez who, frustrated with the length of the fight and filled with hatred at seeing the man who had killed his youngest brother, got out of Zorro's way for a few seconds, enough to aim his dagger at the Alcalde's chest. The masked man had but a split second to react, stopping the dagger just as it took off, but, in doing so, left himself vulnerable to an attack. Jesús took advantage of the opening and was about to thrust his sword through his adversary's heart. At the same time, De Soto, who just needed for that infernal noise to stop, aimed with an unsteady hand in the direction of the two combatants and pressed the trigger.

A scream was heard from the balcony as Jesús prepared to give Zorro the deadly blow, but the sword changed trajectory mid-movement. It took the people watching the strange scene a while to realize what had happened, as Jesús crumbled to the ground.

While aiming his gun at the combatants, the still-hangover De Soto had some trouble identifying a target. He hesitated but, forgetting they had a truce, eventually decided to point his gun at his archenemy. Antonia saw him and screamed to warn her friend but, in doing so, also determined a slight hesitation in De Soto's hand. As a result, instead of either flying between the two combatants or finding a target in Zorro, the Alcalde's bullet ended up a little to the left, straight into Jesús ' head. As for the bandit's sword, the death of its handler and his subsequent fall, made it find its way into Zorro's left arm, instead. Unfortunately, it left a deep wound in the said arm, and blood began to flow freely from it.

Failing to properly apply pressure to stop the bleeding, aware he might soon become a target for the lancers, Zorro knew he had but minutes to make his escape. He, thus, mounted Tornado and left the pueblo just as De Soto was returning to his bed, rather disappointed but glad that, at least, the swordfight was over and he could go back to sleep again.

As soon as Tornado sprinted towards the cave, Antonia made a sign to Don Armando and, careful not to be noticed, hurried to the stables, where she mounted Argento and followed Zorro.

ZZZ

At approaching the cave, his hand dull from the blood loss, the masked outlaw almost fell off the horse, had Antonia not reached him just in time to help him regain some balance. He pulled Tornado up short to reduce his speed, and they safely arrived at the cave a few minutes later.

Alerted by the detective, Manuel and Felipe hurried to help the black-clad man climb down the stallion and Doctor Hernandez came to check his wound, which was still bleeding, although not as profusely as earlier.

"The cut must have severed an artery!" Doctor Hernandez said impatiently, examining the wound while his patient was on the brink of losing consciousness. "When was he injured?"

"About 15 minutes ago." The detective replied.

"He's already white as milk. I am not sure there is enough blood left in him to survive!" The doctor stated as he started his work on the wound, realizing that, while the bleeding had almost stopped, Diego's heartrate was accelerated and he was having trouble breathing. If his patient had, indeed, lost too much blood, Doctor Hernandez knew there was little he could do to save him and Antonia feared the same.

"Is his father in the hacienda?" She asked Felipe, as a sudden idea occurred to her. The youngest De la Vega nodded.

In fact, Don Alejandro had returned an hour earlier to change his shirt, after the already-mentioned incident in the tavern, and had decided to stay home for siesta.

"We need him!" She stated.

"Yes… He should be here if Diego is to die…" Doctor Hernandez agreed.

"No! We need him for a transfusion." She clarified.

The doctor hesitated. While transfusions had been attempted for centuries, the practice had been forbidden in some countries since it had proven too risky for the patient. He had read in The Guardian about a British doctor who had discovered that people suffering from acute blood loss could be saved with the use of the blood from a family member and had hoped the procedure might work. He had even tried it once, about a year earlier, but had given up when he was unable to replicate the effects, and ended up losing his patient even faster than he would have otherwise.

"We have no other choice!" Antonia insisted, at seeing his hesitation.

As Diego's condition was worsening, Doctor Hernandez knew there was nothing else he could do, so he agreed.

"Bring him here, Felipe!" He eventually asked the young man.

It was Felipe's turn to hesitate, though. He wanted to do everything possible for his adoptive father but, at the same time, he knew Diego didn't want Don Alejandro to know his secret yet, so he was scratching his head, trying to come up with a solution.

"Hurry!" Antonia ordered him. "There's not much time!"

Pacing a little and trying to think what to do, Felipe signaled Manuel to accompany him and took with him a rag on which he poured some ether. Silently entering the library, unnoticed by Don Alejandro, who was dozing off in a chair, his back at the fireplace, and a book on his lap, the youngest De la Vega placed the rag on his grandfather's face. After he was sure the older man was fast asleep, he carried him to the cave with Manuel's help.

Doctor Hernandez would have been amused by the idea of stealing blood from the unconscious don, had he not been so concerned about Diego's prognosis. He found the biggest syringe in his bag and proceeded to take some blood from his life-long friend, carefully injecting it into the injured man as soon as he managed to find a proper vein. Encouraged by the lack of reaction to the new blood, he repeated the procedure a few more times, taking blood from different parts of Don Alejandro's body, until the son received almost half a liter of his father's blood, and his pulse and heart rate had stabilized.

As soon as that was done and they noticed Don Alejandro was beginning to wake up, Felipe reapplied the cloth on his nose and, again with Manuel's help, carried him back to the library, leaving him in the same chair from which they had taken him.

Returning to the cave, the young Hernandez collapsed on the chair, in pain due to his condition and the effort of carrying the older man.

ZZZ

Don Alejandro woke up, about twenty minutes later, at hearing someone knock on the entrance door. He felt rather dizzy, his back was stiff and his arms and legs were a little sore, but he didn't think much of it.

"Victoria, my dear! What happened?" He asked at opening the door and finding the young tavern owner there.

"It's Zorro! He's been wounded!" She replied. "I… I don't know what to do and where to go. I don't know how to find him to make sure he is alright!"

"I am sorry to hear! What happened?" He asked while he led her to the library.

She hesitated for a moment.

"He was fighting in the plaza and his opponent's sword cut his arm."

"That does not sound like a reason to panic."

"There was so much blood, Don Alejandro! He left a trail I managed to pursue for a mile, but then I lost it. Since I was already on your land, I thought I should come and ask you… even if you don't want to tell me who he is… I thought you might at least know how to help him…"

"I don't, Victoria. Truly!" Don Alejandro told her. "But if the blood loss was, indeed, so severe, I think he might need a doctor."

"But Doctor Hernandez is away. Diego! He might be able to help him."

"Diego left yesterday for Buenaventura. He hasn't returned yet, I'm afraid. Even if he had, how could my son help if we don't know how to find Zorro?"

"Will you, at least, come look for him with me, Don Alejandro? I can't bear the thought of him bleeding to death in his cave…"

"His cave?"

"Si… He has a cave. I was there once, but I don't know where it is. I don't think it can't be too far away, since he carried me in his arms while escaping some bandits. My wagon had crashed just half a mile away from here, on the road to Santa Paula."

"There are a few caves in the hills behind the hacienda, but I don't think there's any the Alcalde hasn't inspected yet. I don't believe that's where he is, my dear."

"Please, just help me look for him! Por favor, Don Alejandro! I need to do something."

"Alright, I'll come search for him. At least we could erase the blood traces if we find them, since I don't think Zorro would like his blood to lead the Alcalde straight to him."

As he said that, the two left the hacienda, heading for the spot where Victoria had last found the blood trail.

ZZZ

Meanwhile, Felipe had overheard the conversation from the cave and, after checking on Diego, he took some water, a cloth, and a knife, making his way out of the cave.

"You were lucky!" Doctor Hernandez uttered, addressing Diego, after Antonia told them all that had happened in the plaza. "The Alcalde could have shot you, or the Ramirez could have killed you, the lancers could have arrested you in the plaza or pursue you till here, you could have fallen off Tornado...Good Lord! If your father hadn't been in the hacienda or the detective wouldn't have had the inspiration to suggest a transfusion, I wouldn't have been able to save you. Diego, had any of the things that went right for you today gone wrong, you'd be dead by now!"

"I am alive. Let's focus on that. Thank you for saving me, Doctor, and you, Señora! I owe you my life!" Diego muttered, still feeling rather weak and dizzy.

"You must have a legion of angels guarding over you, my friend!" Manuel stated, unable to believe himself the series of fortunate circumstances that had ensured Diego's survival that day.

"I met one of them once…" Diego stated.

"What?" Doctor Hernandez asked.

"Nothing. I am dizzy. Don't mind me…" Diego replied, regretting having opened his mouth, since he was clearly not in a position to share with them his stranger adventures.

The doctor made him drink a lot of water, and got him to eat some leftovers from the lunch Felipe had brought them. Diego was already feeling better and, with some help from the doctor, managed to get to the cot he had placed in the cave a few weeks earlier, for exactly this type of situation.

ZZZ

"There!" Don Alejandro indicated to Victoria, finding the blood trail a few meters away from the last place she had seen it.

The two followed the trail half a mile, back towards the hills behind the hacienda, and then completely lost it, together with Tornado's own tracks, which seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"I don't understand…" Don Alejandro told her. "It's like both the horse and the rider have suddenly vanished."

"Where are we?" Victoria asked a little disoriented.

"My hacienda is half a mile south-west from here. We are close to the hills behind it." Don Alejandro answered.

"Perhaps we should search a little further. Maybe we can find again the trails in the hills." Victoria suggested as they both directed that way.

ZZZ

As soon as Don Alejandro and Victoria had left to search for Zorro, Felipe went to erase the trails. He started with the ones near the cave entrance, then reverse-followed the blood, eliminating all trace of it until he noticed Don Alejandro and Victoria coming towards him. They did not spot him only because they were preoccupied with finding the blood trail, so he ran back to the cave, and exited on Tornado, erasing, once more, the prints near the cave and directing the half-wild stallion away through the hills, and further north. A couple of hours later, after having made sure he misguided his grandfather and Victoria, he returned to the cave to find Diego already able to stand and move around, despite some persistent dizziness and dullness of his left arm.

As soon as he could move well enough, at Antonia's suggestion, he eventually decided to make an 'official' return home, just in case De Soto might send someone looking for him again. To make sure he was alright, she followed him from a distance, mounted on Argento. Antonia arrived five minutes after Diego to the imposing property, under the pretense that she was returning the stallion, since she was leaving town the following day.

His father and Victoria, coming back about an hour later due to Don Alejandro feeling weak and sundown making their chase for the ever-elusive legendary fox impossible, found the two discussed in the library.

"Son! You're home! How was your trip?" Don Alejandro asked him.

"Quite good, actually. I came back with all the ingredients I need to test the soil for our new vineyards and corn crops. I was just explaining Don Antonio the process." Diego stated.

"Don Antonio!" Don Alejandro exclaimed, just noticing the man. "Victoria told me you made sure to keep her out of harm's way this morning. I wanted to say that we appreciate your timely intervention, Señor!"

"Yes, I did hear there was some excitement at the tavern in my absence." Diego pretended to have just been informed about the events.

"Excitement? That's an understatement!" Victoria sighed as she took a seat next to Diego.

"You seem preoccupied, Victoria. Is there something wrong? I hear those outlaws had been captured." Diego uttered, looking for an opportunity to put her mind at ease.

"Zorro has been injured!" She stated, as her eyes filled with tears. "He lost a lot of blood, and I am very worried about him."

"It is true, Son! We have tried to find him to see if we might help him, but we haven't been very lucky. However, from what I could see and what Victoria told me, he was bleeding profusely." Don Alejandro agreed.

"I am sure there's no reason to worry. If you could not follow his trail it must be because, at some point, he made sure to erase his tracks, which means he was well enough to do so…" Diego reasoned.

"It's quite true." Antonia agreed.

"You really think so? You don't believe he might be in danger?" Victoria asked with renewed hope.

"I am sure that's not the case. Anyway, Don Antonio told me it was an arm injury. They are hardly life-threatening." Diego uttered and was glad to see that his secret fiancée was suddenly calmer and less concerned.

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Antonia got up and readied herself to leave "I believe should return to the tavern and get myself ready since I'll be leaving tomorrow. As I've already told Don Diego, I just stopped by to return your magnificent stallion and to thank you for having agreed to lend it to me these couple of days." She explained, directing herself to Don Alejandro.

"Well, Señor, I must say it was a pleasure to meet you and I hope to see you again, soon. I just hope that today's events have not given you a wrong impression of our little pueblo." Don Alejandro stated.

"To be absolutely frank, today's events, as well as the recent ones in San Diego, are starting to make me doubt my decision of settling in California. I confess, I am considering returning to Spain." She replied.

"Oh? I am sorry to hear that!" Don Alejandro mentioned.

"Don't be. I have a rather large estate there which I had left unattended for quite some time. Not to mention, I truly miss my life in Madrid."

"Well…nothing in the colonies compares to the capital of our Empire, does it?" Don Alejandro agreed. "Although, I confess I have always been partial to Barcelona."

As the conversation was over, Antonia smiled and nodded, trying again to take her goodbye.

"Diego, how about we all go to the tavern?" Don Alejandro suggested. "You look rather pale, Son. Some fresh air might do you good, and it would also give you the opportunity to make up for the dinner you missed yesterday."

"That is a very good idea, Don Alejandro. Diego, please accept! I would feel so much better knowing you are at the tavern, in case Zorro decides to return and needs help." Victoria asked her friend.

Feeling cornered, Diego had no alternative but to go into town with the three of them, despite the risk of being outed by the captured men, who were surely able to identify him. As for Antonia, all she could hope for was that Don Armando had managed to follow through with her instructions.


	18. The Hand of Destiny 3

"I need to see the Alcalde!" Don Fernando Iguara demanded as he was stopped by a lancer from entering the Alcalde's office.

"I regret, Señor, but the Alcalde has requested not to be disturbed under any circumstance." The lancer told him.

"I am a magistrate, and I need to see him." He insisted. "If not him, I need to see someone else in charge."

"You could try Sergeant Mendoza." The lancer answered. "He should be at the tavern."

The magistrate was obviously annoyed, but decided to go to the tavern anyway.

"Are you Sergeant Mendoza?" He asked the only man bearing the rank as he was entertaining some of his men with a hyperbolized version of the day's events.

"I am. And who wants to know?"

"Don Fernando Iguara. Royal magistrate."

The title rapidly captured Mendoza's attention and he stood up in attention.

"How… how can I help you, Señor?"

"The men you have in custody have come to Los Angeles to assassinate me and my wife. They have already been sentenced to death, and the execution should have been carried out days ago. I demand to know why has the Alcalde been postponing their execution."

"Well… the Alcalde is not feeling well today. He has been seriously injured this morning."

"I heard about that little injury to his shoulder. That can't be an acceptable reason not to do his job. I want those men executed or I will make sure the Governor hears of his inability to carry on with his duties as Alcalde." Don Fernando menaced.

"I… I will go talk to the Alcalde right away, Señor. Por favor, wait here!"

Mendoza hurried to De Soto's room and knocked slowly on the door. When there was no reply, he opened and headed to the bed where the Alcalde was fast asleep. He moved him a little and De Soto opened his sleepy eyes to find out the identity of the man he intended to punish for disobeying his order to not be disturbed.

"What do you want, Sergeant?" He asked.

"There's a magistrate here. Don Fernando Iguara. He demands for the members of the Ramirez gang we have in the prison to be executed right away."

"Then execute them and leave me to sleep, Mendoza. And, if you interrupt me again, I will have you sent to the Amazon Campaign or execute you for insubordination! Am I clear?"

"Very clear, mi Alcalde!"

Mendoza exited the Alcalde's bedroom, and, after informing the magistrate that the sentence was to be carried out in a matter of minutes, he formed a firing squad and sent his men to bring out the prisoners.

"Sergeant!" Sepulveda called after him, coming out of the prison.

"What is it, Corporal? I told you to bring out those men."

"They say they have information regarding Zorro. They say they know his face and can recognize him." Sepulveda informed his superior.

Mendoza pondered on the issue.

"We could finally capture him, Sergeant, if only we delay the execution!" The Corporal explained.

"What's going on? Why the delay?" Don Fernando wanted to know.

"The Alcalde has ordered me to proceed with the execution!" Mendoza stated.

"But, Sergeant, don't you think the Alcalde would want to interrogate them himself?"

"Sepulveda, they are just trying to delay the execution so that they might escape again! And the Alcalde was very clear in his order and also told me not to disturb him with anything else. We will carry on with the executions!" Mendoza decided.

Sepulveda returned to the jail and brought out the men, who protested all the way, screaming that they knew Zorro's identity and can help find him in exchange for clemency. The last of them was executed just as the De la Vega carriage was making its way into the pueblo, without ever having the opportunity to share his knowledge about the masked outlaw.

"What was that, Sergeant?" Diego shouted, using all his energy to jump from the carriage at hearing the muskets firing.

"We executed the men who abducted Manuel, Don Diego!" Mendoza explained. "The magistrate, Don Fernando Iguara demanded for the sentence in their case to be carried out at once."

Both men stared at the corpses for a few moments, then Diego turned around and headed for the tavern with his head bowed, leaving Mendoza to order his men what to do with the bodies.

"Was that your doing?" He asked Antonia, who had stayed behind, leaving his father and Victoria to enter the tavern.

"They were supposed to be executed days ago." Was her only reply.

Diego spent half an hour in silence, feeling guilty about the fact that those men had met their end so hastily. He was, at that point, fully aware that Antonia had decided to protect his identity, and convinced the magistrate to pressure for their execution. He was also worried that the Alcalde might take measures against Mendoza for the role he played in the detective's plan.

"You seem quite content, Sergeant, for a man about to be scolded by the Alcalde!" Don Alejandro noted, after hearing the comments about the executed prisoners' allegations of knowing how to identify Zorro, as Mendoza neared the table they were sharing with Victoria and Antonio. "Come, take a sit!"

"Gracias, Don Alejandro!"

"So? Are you going to tell us just why you are so content?" The old don insisted.

Mendoza looked at Antonia with some suspicion, not sure if it was safe to talk in front of her.

"Don Antonio is a friend, Sergeant. You can trust him!" Diego encouraged him.

"Those men said they could recognize Zorro." Mendoza confessed whispering. "I could have found some good excuses to delay the execution till morning, since we haven't received the sentences on them. But, if I had done that, maybe they could have told the Alcalde who Zorro is. I don't want the Alcalde to know that! Zorro is my friend. He saved us again today and he is surely severely wounded. He lost a lot of blood and the Alcalde could easily catch him now."

"Was that also why you didn't send your men to follow him?" Antonia asked with a smile. "You don't really want him captured?"

"Well…" the Sergeant looked around, wondering if it was safe to confess "the Alcalde did offer Zorro a truce and, since it is still in effect…"

"Zorro has a good friend in you, Sergeant!" Diego told him with undisguised gratitude. "But won't Ignacio be upset when he finds out?"

"He is still asleep and ordered me to go on with the execution. Plus, there are several witnesses who heard the magistrate menacing he will take measures against the Alcalde if we don't execute those men. And… he can always order us to get on the trails tomorrow… Zorro lost a lot of blood as he was escaping."

Don Alejandro and Victoria looked at each other, remembering they had not erased the trails they had been following to the hills and further.

"I don't think there will be any trail left soon…" Antonia replied at noticing a lightning brighten the evening sky as a thunder followed. "The rain that's about to fall will erase any tracks if there are any…"

Everyone at the table smiled at that remark.

"I sometimes think that there must be some higher power protecting him!" Mendoza whispered at hearing the rain starting to fall.

"Maybe there is, Sergeant! Maybe there is…" Diego agreed, gulping his glass of juice, his mind going once more through the list of coincidences that arranged the events in such a way that he managed, once more, to survive a conundrum that could have easily led to his downfall.

ZZZ

"Are you really going back to Spain?" Diego asked Antonia the next morning, just as she was about to get on the stagecoach for Monterey.

"Not yet, considering I still have some gold to retrieve." She answered with a wink. "I just said so yesterday because your father might try to find me in Buenaventura, and I wanted to give you a good excuse for when he doesn't."

"Always thinking three moves ahead, aren't you?" He wondered with a smile.

"I wouldn't be the great detective I am otherwise, would I?" She inquired with a smug. "You were right, though! We make a good team."

"And you were wrong!" He answered, making her frown. "I did live to hear you scream." Diego clarified with a grin.

"Yes… What can I say… Desperate times…" She confessed. "It was a pleasure to see you again, Don Diego!" Antonia said instead of goodbye, as Don Armando was heading their way, accompanied by the magistrate and his wife.

Don Armando glanced at Diego with a knowing smirk, as he passed him by and entered the carriage, making Diego sigh at the idea that someone else probably also knew his secret. It would have been easy for the man to guess it, considering he knew Antonia's every plan.

"Don Diego!" He heard De Soto's voice calling to him, just as the stagecoach was exiting Los Angeles.

"Alcalde! How are you feeling today? I understand you have been wounded in one of yesterday's fights." He uttered.

"Yes… about that, I was wondering if you might take a look at my injury. Your friend assured me he had enough experience, but I trust your opinion more." De Soto stated.

"I am flattered. Let's have a look then." He agreed and followed the Alcalde to his office. "He did a very good job on it, Ignacio!" Diego noticed, impressed at inspecting the already-healing wound. "There is no sign of infection, and it is already on the mends."

"It seems swollen." De Soto protested.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. It is still a deep wound." Diego assured him. "I can give you some tea to help with the swallowing, though, if you'd like."

"Tea? Not sure… but if you think it might help..."

"I will send it later with Felipe." He replied as the Alcalde was putting his shirt back on. "You were lucky that knife only injured your arm."

"Zorro was the lucky one. Had I not been… suffering… because of the wound, those thugs might have led me straight to him!"

"Yes… I heard they claimed they knew his identity. But do you think that was truly the case?"

"Why would they claim so, if they didn't? I am still trying to figure out Mendoza's punishment for not having told me about their claims before he ordered the execution."

"But I heard that he only gave the order because the magistrate had menaced to ask the Governor to remove you as Alcalde. Anyway, Ignacio, if those men really knew Zorro's identity, why would he have let them live? And why did they not share the information they had, before they died, since they had nothing left to lose?"

Ignacio looked at him, puzzled, trying to find the answers to those very obvious questions he had not even considered asking before. Since he could not reason from the perspective of a man like Diego, De Soto, reasoned from his own perspective, realizing that, if he was Zorro and someone had found out his identity, thus threatening to send him to the gallows, he would have killed that man. His nemesis, however, had not killed any of the members of the Ramirez gang. This led him to the conclusion that the thugs were no threat to the black-clad man.

"I see your point." Ignacio stated, after carefully massaging his beard with two fingers, while pacing the room. "Mendoza was probably right and they just wanted to buy themselves some time to escape…"

"If that is so, I'd say there's no need to punish the poor Sergeant for doing his duty and defending his superior, is there?"

"No… I guess not."

"Well, Ignacio… if you don't need me for anything else, I guess I will probably see you later at the tavern!" Diego stated as he was preparing to exit the office.

"Yes… later. Thank you for your help!" The Alcalde said.

Diego nodded and headed for the tavern with a grin on his face.


	19. Goodbye Doctor Hernandez

Two days later, the caballero, accompanied by Felipe, once again, headed for San Diego, this time to dig out the gold he had taken from the ship and buried close to the bandits' safe house. He wanted to make sure that the treasure was rightly distributed among the men and the families of those who had brought it to the surface, a small compensation for the ordeal they had to endure. Furthermore, the trip also gave him the opportunity to finally put to rest any worry that there might still be members of the Ramirez Gang roaming free. 

By the time they returned, Doctor Hernandez and Manuel were both about to leave for Monterey, the older man having decided to move there permanently so that he might be able to take care of his son.

"Are you sure there is nothing I can say or do to convince you to stay?" Diego asked.

"No, young man. Manuel may be feeling better now, but I am not sure he will ever completely recover after his ordeal. His life is in Monterey. He wants to marry the young woman he is courting but, considering his health issues, I fear he might not be able to return to a normal life, nor be as successful in his career. He needs me and that is where I also need to be: with my son. I can at least help him give that Señorita of his a carefree life, or as carefree a life as possible, at least. Perhaps I might even help him buy that house he is set on acquiring. He has such big plans my Manuel… I just hope they might come true for him, despite all he's been through recently."

"I understand your wish to take care of your son, but how about the people in this pueblo? There are many here who need a doctor and you are not an easy man to replace."

"I have been corresponding for a while with a young American doctor, Jessie Kent. He was educated in Madrid and has quite an impressive experience, despite his young age. In his last letter he told me that his parents had recently passed away and he decided to come to California to make a new life for himself. He was hoping to join my practice here, in Los Angeles. I have just written to offer him to take it over from me permanently and I have every certainty he will accept. Something tells me you two will get along very well. I never met the young man but, judging from his letters, he has an inquisitive mind, just as you do, and a similar fascination for science. Until he arrives, though, I was hoping you might consider acting as the pueblo's temporary doctor."

"Me?"

"You are the only one qualified. Look… I know you have other things on your mind and the weight of the world on your shoulders, but, since you are also in the business of saving lives, I am hoping you would say yes… after all, it may also keep you out of trouble for a while…"

Diego grinned at those words.

"You know…" The doctor continued. "I finally understand why you have decided not to share your secret with anyone. However, now that I know, I don't think I could just stand by and pretend, Diego. I almost shouted your name last week, when that bounty hunter took a shot at you. Frankly, it is but a matter of time until I would end up betraying you somehow. It is better for us both that I get away from Los Angeles. And… with you acting as the pueblo's doctor, not even Ignacio de Soto would decide to execute you, should you be captured."

"I certainly have no intention of giving him the opportunity to take such a decision."

"And you had no intention of dying anytime soon, but you came quite close only two weeks ago! It is not always up to you, young man."

"It wasn't the first time I came close. Yet, here I am, alive and well."

"Yes…Here you are." The doctor answered with a smirk.

"In my experience, things have a way of working out…"

"Your legion of angels makes sure of that, I suppose…So? Do you accept?"

"Father? Are you ready? We should be at the tavern soon. It is not polite to let everybody wait for us." Manuel interrupted the two at entering the office.

"Yes, I do, Doctor." Diego stated, smiling at the older Hernandez.

"Excellent! Now, Señores, how about we go enjoy that party?" The doctor suggested.

ZZZ

"If I may have your attention!" Don Alejandro asked and the music stopped as all those in the tavern focused their attention on him. "It is a sad thing to say goodbye to such an important member of our community as Doctor Hernandez. We all owe him a great debt of gratitude for all his care and dedication. Some of us, me included, certainly owe him our lives. He has always been there when we needed him, no matter the time of day or night, always doing all he could to help. Throughout the years, this good man has shared our joys and sorrows, and has, to some extent, become an informal member of each family in this pueblo. His departure will certainly leave a hole in our hearts. We will miss you, my friend!" The old don stated. "To Doctor Hernandez!" He encouraged everyone to raise their glasses and drink.

"To Doctor Hernandez!" Others uttered in a choir.

"Speech!" Don Alfonso encouraged the doctor from the middle of the crowd, and his request was met with further encouragement from the other people present.

"Alright." The doctor agreed. "Thank you, Alejandro, for your kind words. I am not one for long speeches, as you all know. Except for when your health is concerned." The statement was met with chuckles by the audience. "I have built a life here, and I will always consider this pueblo to be my home. I was privileged to have the opportunity to put my life in your service. Now… I know that many of you are preoccupied that my leave will mean that the pueblo won't have a doctor for a while, so I want to take the opportunity to put your minds at rest. A young doctor, Señor Jessie Kent, has already accepted to come to Los Angeles and should arrive in three months' time."

"A gringo?" The Alcalde asked.

"A brilliant young doctor, educated in Madrid, with ties to the Crown, from what I know about him." The doctor informed the Alcalde, but could hardly erase the frown on De Soto's face. "Meanwhile, Don Diego has accepted to step in, and temporarily act as the pueblo's physician. I cannot imagine a better man for the job, and I leave with a light heart, knowing that you will be in good hands." The doctor continued and the announcement surprised most of the people present there, except for the Alcalde.

"You will make a good doctor, Diego!" Don Alejandro assured his son once he overcame the shock of the announcement.

"That is true. I can't imagine anyone else who could take over from Doctor Hernandez!" Victoria confirmed.

"I will do my best to rise to your expectations!" Diego assured them.

"Well…you can start by telling me what on Earth is this! I have a similar one on my other hand and on my legs." Don Alejandro exclaimed, rolling up his right sleeve to show Diego the bruise which had appeared around the small mark left by the needle the doctor had used a few days earlier for the blood transfusion.

Diego did his best to hide a grin and, looking seriously at his father told him "Father, I believe you were bitten by a blundell…"

"A what?"

"A blundell…it just wanted some of your blood. I am sure the bruises will pass within a few days by themselves…"

Don Alejandro looked at him as if he was talking nonsense and decided to ask the doctor the same question, mentioning Diego's answer. Doctor Hernandez glanced to Diego, hid his grin, and agreed with the diagnostic.

ZZZ

"Manuel!" Diego called his friend as he was about to follow his father in the stagecoach, taking out a box wrapped in colored paper and handing it to him. "This belongs to you."

"Diego… I can't possibly accept a gift from you. I already owe you too much, my friend!"

"You owe me nothing! And this is not a gift, actually. It is just something that belongs to you and which I happened to have in my possession."

"Should I open it now?"

"No… I think you'd better wait until you get to Monterey. But do take good care of it."

"May I know what it is, then?"

"Your share of a certain treasure you unwillingly helped recover." Diego whispered in Manuel's ear.

"My share?"

Diego just nodded.

"Take care, my friend! I am looking forward to visiting your new home in Monterey!" He uttered just as his baffled friend was forced into the stagecoach, moments before it departed.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ  
Author's note: The so-called "blundell" in the dialogue above is a reference to James Blundell, the famous obstetrician who performed the first successful blood transfusion from human-to-human in 1818. Previous known attempts involved animal-to-human transfusion and not all of them failed...


End file.
